Arkham City
by CryInSorrow
Summary: Hugo Strange revealed the plan the League had for his Delirium, but he had an ace up his sleeve. A Delirium bomb detonated inside Blackgate, and Ra's al Ghul breaking open Arkham. Chaos has erupted in Downtown Gotham, with criminals like the Joker taking advantage of the catastrophe. [Sequel to "Breaking the Habit"]
1. Chapter 1

Jason groaned tiredly, lances of light piercing the window and striking his closed eyes. He shut his eyes tighter for a moment, head pounding as he slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position. He rubbed his head a bit, hand raking through his hair as he opened his eyes and looked around the room. The first thing he noticed was that he was only wearing a pair of jeans. The last thing he remembered was trying to flee before that Delirium bomb exploded. He remembered being thrown back by the force of the blast and then nothing... The second thing he noticed was that there were several cats all around the room, counting roughly six in his head. _Where the hell am I? And why am I half naked? Where the hell's my gear?!_

He groaned again and scrubbed his face with his hands, pushing the blankets away and swinging his legs over the edge of the bed. He sat there for several moments, scanning the room for his gear. He found his helmet on top of a dressed, his jacket hanging on a coat peg, and his armor and utility belt sitting on on arm chair.

"Sleeping Beauty finally awakes," came a woman's voice from behind him. Jason turned and spotted Catwoman, a.k.a Selina Kyle, coming through the bedroom window. The woman took off her orange goggles and set them aside. She took off her cowl as she sauntered across the room, grabbing some clothing and giving Jason a wink before retreating. Jason groaned and scrubbed his face again, pushing himself out of the bed. Three of the cats came to greet him and he petted them before grabbing up his gear and pulling it on, leaving the helmet where it was for now. He made his way out of the room and found Selina in civilian clothes, in the kitchen.

"What happened, exactly? And how did I get here?" Jason asked, headache tormenting him again. He stopped in front of the kitchen then, with his eyes on Selina. The woman glanced over her shoulder as she moved a kettle off of a burner.

"Well, you're welcome," she replied. Jason frowned, and gave a nod, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Right. Thanks. So-"

"I found you laying on a sidewalk nearby. Some blue-ish haze was filling the air. Lucky for me, I stole a rebreather from Bruce once," she said with a little laugh. "You were unconscious. It wasn't easy to get you back here. You're heavy," she said evenly, turning around and arching an eyebrow at him. Jason grumbled a bit under his breath and nodded.

"Well, thanks. But I've gotta go," Jason said again and headed for the bedroom, grabbing his helmet, then heading for the window.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Selina warned. Jason turned to Selina to see her standing in the doorway. "It's hell out here. You've been out cold for seven hours, but a lot has happened since then," she added. Jason frowned, tucking his helmet underneath his arm.

"Seven hours, huh? What could I have missed?"

"A lot," she said smoothly, gesturing for him to follow. With an annoyed sigh, he followed her out to the kitchen. She grabbed the kettle and poured a couple of cups of tea for the both of them and joined him at the table. "Bruce called me, asked for my help. An all hands on deck type of situation. I assumed it was bad, but I had no idea," Selina said smoothly, sipping her tea. She looked up at Jason and went on "there was an explosion at Blackgate. Some kind of gas that made the inmates go insane. There was a riot, then the inmates escaped and pretty much took over the area." Selina took another sip of her tea and glanced over at Jason. The man held his tea cup in his hands, staring pensively into the liquid as she spoke. So she continued "shortly after, Arkham got busted open from the inside. More crazies leaked out onto the streets. It became total chaos. Within the last hour or so, the mayor mobilized the entire GCPD and quarantined off everything south of Arkham," Selina explained. Jason sat back in his chair, wide-eyed. So he didn't just miss a lot; his missed hell itself breaking loose all over Gotham City. Or Downtown, at least.

"The chaos hasn't reach here yet, but it will soon, I think. Nobody can get in or out of Downtown Gotham until this dies down. There are thousands of people trapped here with the worst of the worst and it looks like it's going to get worse before it gets better," she added. At first, Jason had wondered why Selina seemed so...serious. She was usually more aloof, but after hearing what it was he'd missed...well, damn.

"Shit," was all Jason managed. Selina smirked a bit and nodded.

"That's one word for it," she replied. Jason pushed himself up from the table and pulled on his helmet, making for the window.

"Oracle? Nightwing? Anyone, come in!" Jason called. There was static from his communicator, then finally a voice broke through.

"Jason?! Oh thank god you're okay!" came Dick's voice. Jason snorted a bit.

"Yeah, Selina pulled my ass out of the fire," Jason answered. "She told me what's going on. Now I'm asking you," Jason added. There was a pause, then came Bruce's voice next.

"It's not good, Jason. Downtown Gotham is a mess. We're...not sure where to begin. There's a blockade at all the bridges connecting Downtown to the rest of Gotham. They're not letting anyone in or out without permission," Bruce replied. Jason nodded and paced a little bit, heaving an exasperated sigh.

"Shit...this is my fault," Jason muttered.

"No, it's not. How do you even figure?" Barbara asked.

"I've been investigating Delirium for fucking weeks! If I'd said something-"

"Nobody, not even you, could've predicted this," Bruce cut in. Jason paused for a moment, a little stunned. Bruce trying to reassure him and not berating him? Well, that was new.

"Still-"

"No, Jason, this isn't your fault. This is Strange and Ra's," Dick replied.

"Ra's?"

"Yes. Ra's busted open Arkham. He was hiding in Arkham under the alias Terry Gene Kase, waiting for the right moment to bust Arkham open," Bruce replied.

"And the Joker has pretty much declared himself the 'Mayor or Arkham City'," Tim added in. Jason snorted.

"Arkham City?" he asked.

"That's what the Joker is calling it. Which is rather appropriate when you consider the circumstances. A bunch of crazed lunatics, hyped up on Delirium, running around and wreaking havoc through the city?" Tim added. Jason snorted.

"The Joker must be in heaven," he said flatly. A derisive snort sounded over the communicator, coming from Bruce. Jason glanced back over toward Selina, then out the window. He could see smoke in the distance, could hear shouting and gunfire; true enough, the chaos hadn't spread to here yet, but it was definitely getting here.

"Jason, listen," came Dick's voice again. "Things are getting pretty bad. Travel back and forth to and from Downtown is pretty restricted, but Bruce was able to pull up some old schematics of Gotham City. There are a series of subway tunnels we can use to travel. There are bat-boxes-"

"Wait, what? Bat Boxes?" Jason asked, arching a brow. Jason could hear snickering from the communicator.

"Er...my idea. From when I was Robin. I was nine, okay?" Dick said, earning a laugh from Barbara and Tim. Even Jason chuckled a little bit. "Anyway, there are a network of them on the power grid that siphon electricity anonymously and safely, and Bruce can control the cameras along the way."

"Got it. I'll make my way to the cave then. See you soon," Jason replied.

"Wait. Bring Selina with you," Bruce said. Jason arched his brow again and glanced over at Selina with gave a little smirk and a wave of her fingers.

"Sure, I'll bring your girlfriend," Jason replied, cutting the line before Bruce could reply. Selina giggled a bit when he turned around and shrugged at her.

"Well, sounds like Brucie needs some extra help," Selina said smoothly. Jason made a mock gagging noise.

"Just...no. Just no. Get your gear on and let's go. The less I know about you and Bruce, the better," Jason said sourly. Selina snickered, a grin plastered across her face as she retreated from the room to gear up.

Once she returned, the two anti-heroes made their way out of the apartment building. The chaos sounded closer now, with shouts, screams, and laughs growing closer. Gunshots and explosions sounded in the distance, and the smoke trails grew ever closer. Downtown Gotham has truly gone to hell, and true to Selina's word, it seemed to be getting worse. Fortunately, it seemed Selina had brought the motorcycle Jason had "borrowed" from the cave along with them. He hopped onto the motorcycle with Selina behind him, revving the engine and peeling away from the apartment building.

"So, what's the plan?" Selina asked. Jason glanced at her as he headed for the nearest subway entrance. He spotted a few cameras nearby, but they didn't seem active; likely thanks to the bat-boxes. He didn't really feel up to fighting through the GCPD's riot police at the moment. They were just doing their jobs, even if it meant trapping thousands of innocent people in with a bunch of criminals and psychopaths.

"We're taking a little detour to the batcave," Jason replied evenly, tires squealing as he turned the bike hard, racing it down into an old, unused subway tunnel. "God only knows how we're going to clean up this mess, but if anyone has a plan, it's probably Bruce."

"Mmm, yes, Brucie does often have ways of dealing with this kind of situation," Selina replied. Jason cringed and shook his head.

"Stop calling him Brucie," he replied.

"Why? Jealous?" she purred.

"More like disturbed."

Dick sat is the main Living Room of the manor, watching the news. He'd been benched, not by Bruce, but by Alfred. While he disabled the bomb in West Village, he'd been ambushed by several assassins. He managed to disarm the bomb, but in the process of fighting off the assassins, he'd receive several injuries, one of which was a sword _through_ his calf. Alfred was able to patch him up and he'd tried to get back out there on patrol, but Alfred wouldn't let him.

 _"Thanks Alf, but I need to get back out there. They need my help," Dick said smoothly, growling in pain as he pulled himself off of the medical cot. Alfred hummed at him and nodded._

 _"Very good, Master Richard. But tell me something," the butler said evenly as he packed away the kit "how do you plan to be of use to the others with both your legs wounded?"_

 _"What? But my other leg is fine, Alfred," Dick replied. Alfred shot him a blank look._

 _"It won't be if you don't get out of that costume and rest."_

Needless to say, Dick didn't ask any questions and did exactly as he was told. Alfred had an even expression the whole time, which somehow only made him scarier.

"Meanwhile in Downtown Gotham, the catastrophe is worsening. When questioned about the situation, both the Mayor and current Commissioner, James Gordon, offered no comment," the anchor woman said. Dick fidgeted nervously on the couch; Alfred let him keep the communicator at least for which he was grateful. Jason had been down in The Bowery when everything went to hell. He'd only heard from his boyfriend minutes ago, but he felt relief wash over him to find out that he was okay.

As of now, he was watching the news and eagerly awaiting Jason's return to the manor. Bruce had been rather thorough with the cave; it connected to a system of tunnels underneath most of Gotham. A few of said tunnels ran parallel to the subway system. So Bruce created very well hidden entrances to those tunnels connecting to the subway system. The GPS on all of his vehicles, including the bike Jason 'borrowed' would have all of their locations marked. So for the moment, all Dick could do was wait.

"Master Richard," Alfred called, stopping by the Living Room on his way through the manor from the cave "Master Jason has arrived in the cave, and with Miss Kyle." Dick's head perked up at Jason's name, and despite his injured leg, he managed to hop over the back of the couch and made his way through the secret entrance behind the grandfather clock and down to the cave.

"Glad you're alright Jaybird!" Roy said happily, hugging his best friend. Jason grunted a bit, his ribs hurting a little from the blast, and gently pushed the auburn haired archer off of him.

"Yeah, thanks Roy. But a piece of advice; explosions hurt," Jason replied, earning a laugh from Roy.

"I'm amazed an idiot like you is still alive, Todd," Damian said flatly. Jason pulled off his helmet and went to speak, but he was interrupted when Dick grabbed him from behind, spun him around and kissed him hard. He didn't even care that everyone was watching while he kissed Jason, and Jason apparently didn't care either; he wrapped his arms around Dick's waist and tugged him a little closer, ignoring the disgusted sound from Damian, the snicker from Tim and the 'awww' from Barbara as she hopped off of her own motorcycle, having just arrived.

"You're an idiot!" Dick cursed, breaking the kiss and shoving Jason away. Jason dropped his helmet and stared at Dick wide-eyed with surprise. "God, why are you always trying to get yourself killed?!"

"Uh, Dickie? We're vigilantes. It's an occupational hazard," Jason replied with a smirk. Dick snorted and crossed his arms over his chest, shaking his head.

"I can't believe you!"

"I was trying to diffuse a bomb!"

"I get it! But-"

"He was worried," Barbara said with a smile. She sauntered over to Jason and hugged him. "Glad to see you're alright. We heard the explosion over your comm link, and we were all afraid-"

"That you died again," Dick said softly, expression falling. Jason frowned a bit and waved his hand dismissively.

"Yeah, sorry for the scare. I tried that once. Obviously it didn't stick. 'Death' just doesn't look good on me," Jason joked, earning a glare from Dick. He opened his mouth to berate Jason some more, but instead, he just snickered.

"You ass! Joking about your death?! That's-" Dick paused for a moment, then leaned in and kissed Jason again "so you." Jason grinned and wrapped an arm around Dick's waist and pulled him in for another kiss.

"Alright, you two can suck face later," Barbara said with a laugh. Bruce cleared his throat and all eyes were on him.

"We've got a situation in Downtown Gotham," Bruce began. Jason snorted.

"A 'situation'? It's a fucking shitstorm down there. A 'situation' doesn't even begin to cover it," Jason interrupted. Bruce gave him a glare, but the young anti-hero just gave a shrug of his shoulders.

"Mmm, hate to be the bearer of bad news, Brucie, but your second bird is right; Downtown Gotham has seen much better days," Selina cut in. Bruce pinched the bridge of his nose, but nodded nonetheless, making for the computer. He sat in the chair and pulled up images from all over Downtown Gotham.

"We're dealing with every escaped convict from Blackgate, all of Arkham's inmate, including nearly every super villain, from the Joker to Mr. Freeze. On top of that, Hugo Strange is on the loose, and we have Ra's al Ghul and the League of Assassins to contend with," Bruce growled, turning in his chair to face the others. "What's worse, is we may also be dealing with a League of Assassins power struggle to boot. I tapped the cameras in Downtown Gotham-" Bruce began, turning back to the computer. He pulled up an image of a very familiar old man with long silver hair and a mustache and beard. He wore blood red robes with a gold sash, wielding a katana "and found Sensei. Ra's al Ghul's Second in Command as well as rival for control of the League of Assassins."

"Did I say 'shitstorm'? I meant 'cluster fuck'. So we have all of Blackgate and Arkham, Hugo Strange, The League of Assassins, and some fucking power struggle, all going on just south of Arkham? We're going to need more than 'just a plan' to deal with all this shit," Jason growled. "We're going to need a fucking army."

"No. We'll be enough. We'll have to be."


	2. Chapter 2

"Well, first thing's first," Jason began, moving toward the computer. He leaned against the chair, ignoring Bruce's glare as he typed away on the keyboard and brought something up on he screen. Jason glanced down at Bruce with a sly grin. "We'll need a base of operations down in the area for easy access. I have such a place. Bruce knows it too. Probably assumed that I didn't know he knew and bugged it?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest. On the screen, was an image of a bunker that looked like a miniature Batcave, only not as impressive as Batman's cave.

"Where is that?" Dick asked. Jason glanced over his shoulder, then pointed a thumb at the screen.

"It's a bunker. Belonged to a wealthy family that used to live here in Gotham over fifty years ago. They took off and the place was forgotten, until I found it," Jason explained, flashing a grin. "I...renovated the place. Sort of my own little batcave, underneath Crime Alley. We can operate from there; some of the subway tunnels run parallel to the bunker. And well, you know the rest," Jason said, gesturing toward Bruce.

"Wow, impressive," Tim said, eyeing the screen in surprise. Jason chuckled in amusement and shrugged his shoulders. He had more than safe houses in Gotham City. He had a few bunkers, like mini bat caves, set up in each section of the city; one each in Uptown, Midtown, and Downtown. He began the process of setting all of this up after his second return to Gotham. The first ended badly, namely with him being blown into the bay from his own bombs in a failed attempt to kill the Joker. Of course he had no illusions that they were secret from Batman; that was a feat _very few_ had ever accomplished, and even then, he sniffed them out eventually.

"You think that's impressive? I have another one right underneath the GCPD. They have no idea," Jason replied with a smug grin. Dick and Tim both gave an approving nod, and even Damian seemed impressed, in his own, anally retentive way.

"Yeah, I might not be a computer whiz like you or Dickie, but I know my way around a computer. It's obviously nothing like this beast of a machine-" Jason said smoothly, patting the Batcomputer "-but it gets the job done. I made sure to wipe the bunker from all of Gotham's databases when I set the place up. So pretty much nobody knows it exists."

"Good work. Now let's go," Bruce said firmly, donning his cape and cowl. Jason snorted in response, donning his helmet as all of them headed for the vehicles.

"Wait, I'm coming with," Dick called. Jason turned around and held his hand up.

"No way. You're injured. I'm not-"

"I'm not going to sit around here and be useless!" Dick growled in response, moving across the cave and grabbing his gear. Jason groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose, shooting a glare over his shoulder as Roy who was snickering behind him.

"Dick...ugh, you're a pain in my ass. You're not going to take 'no' for an answer, are you?" Jason asked with an exasperated sight. Dick flashed a sweet smile at him and shook his head.

"Nope. So you're taking me with you then, right?" Jason shook his head, heaving another sigh, then hooked his thumb over his shoulder toward the motorcycle.

"Get your ass in gear then. C'mon, we don't have all day, Goldie," Jason said flatly, moving toward the bike. "But you're on computer duty until that leg heals. I'm not getting my ass kicked by Alfred for you. I love you, but not that much!" Jason called back, earning a laugh from both Dick and Roy.

"Dude, he's got you wrapped," Roy teased in a whisper. Jason flipped him off.

"Shove it, Harper," Jason shot back. He hopped onto the motorcycle with Dick jumping on behind him, but before they could go anywhere, Alfred stopped them.

"Master Richard. Master Jason," Alfred said evenly.

"Don't worry Alf, he isn't going on patrol," Jason replied. Dick gave a wave to Alfred.

"I promise Alfred, I'll heal up first," Dick replied. Alfred gave a curt nod.

"Indeed. Well then, off you go. I'll know if you disobeyed me," Alfred said evenly before moving back across the cave, toward the Batcomputer. Dick paled a little bit while Jason snickered at him. "And that goes for you too, Master Jason, for encouraging him."

"Ha ha," Dick teased, poking Jason in the side. Jason grumbled a bit, then revved the engine, peeling out of the cave and down into the tunnels.

The seven of them, Bruce, Dick, Tim, Jason, Selina, Damian, and Barbara, arrived at Jason's bunker in Downtown Gotham, which was located beneath an apartment complex near the center of Downtown Gotham. It was the perfect place from which to operate from.

"Nice place," Dick said, looking around as he followed the others into the bunker. It had a large computer much alike the Batcave, as well as a sort of living space on one side of the room. The other side had a workstation and gear locker, neatly set up. Jason even had a motorcycle and a car ready for use nearby.

"Yep. Home sweet home," Jason said smoothly, moving over toward the gear locker. He looked over toward Bruce as he removed his helmet and set it down on the work table. "I'd've figured you would've had extra 'Batcaves' of your own around town," Jason said smoothly.

"I do," Bruce began, seating himself at the computer "but they're underneath Blackgate and Akrham Asylum. Both of which are of poor strategic value at the moment." Jason snorted in response and turned back to his work, working on a few upgrades for his helmet. Roy, howvere, seemed like a kid in a candy store when he eyes the workstation.

"Oh wow, look at all this stuff!" Roy said cheerily, running his hands over some of the various weapons mounted on the walls. Jason chuckled a bit, glancing up at Roy.

"Have fun. I know you like to tinker. Just don't break anything," Jason replied. Roy grinned wickedly and started digging through the various parts Jason had stashed away.

"Are you sure that's a wise idea?" Dick asked Jason in an amused tone. Jason gave a shrug of his shoulders.

"Probably not, but hey, Roy's good with tech. May as well make use of that," Jason replied.

"Aw, that's so sweet of you Jaybird," Roy teased, earning the finger from Jason. Dick padded over to the gear locked and looked around a bit, setting his own gear down on a counter top nearby. He looked around, eyeing all of the various guns; assault rifles, sniper rifles, shot guns, pistols, and various other guns and melee weapons were mounted on the walls.

"Don't worry Dickie, I'm going non-lethal," Jason said to him, allaying the concerns he knew Dick was feeling at the sight of all the gear. "Mostly," he muttered to himself. Dick just gave a nod in response.

"Anything I can do to help?" Dick asked, stopping beside Jason and wrapping an arm around his shoulders. Jason glanced over at Dick and stole a kiss.

"Yeah," he replied with a seductive grin. Dick smirked back, then Jason leaned in close and said "you can get out of the way." Dick frowned at him, and playfully shoved the man with his hip.

"Ass."

"You like my ass,"

"Enough. Now isn't the time to be fooling around," came Bruce's voice as he worked on the computer. Jason snorted in response.

"Calm your ass, we're just having some fun. You should try it some time, before you blow a blood vessel," Jason shot back. Bruce growled in response, but before he could reply, Selina moved to his side, patting his shoulder. She seemed to have a calming effect on him, because his anger dissipated a bit upon her arrival.

"Relax. No point in getting all wound up," she purred, glancing over at Dick and Jason.

"We need to focus on the mission. Downtown Gotham is a mess, and the more we fool around, the more time we waste, and the more people who get hurt," Bruce said evenly, turning back to the computer. Jason turned, growling angrily and went to make a remark, but Dick touched his shoulder and shook his head. Just as Selina had a way of calming Bruce, so too did Dick seem to calm Jason.

Silence pervaded the room with Dick helping out Roy and Jason with their work, Bruce and Selina working at the computer, and Tim and Damian sparring nearby. After a time, Bruce turned around in the chair, donning his cape and cowl.

"Our first priority should be to recapture Blackgate and Arkham. Defeating the criminals throughout the city will be meaningless if we have nowhere to put them," Bruce said smoothly, making for the Batmobile. "Dick, I want you at the computer, working with Alfred as our eyes throughout the area," Bruce said, and Dick gave a nod in response, moving toward the computer. "Tim, Damian, with me. We're going to Arkham. Jason, Roy," Bruce hesitated, turning toward the two men over by the gear locker. His eyes narrowed a bit. "I'm trusting you two with Blackgate."

"Don't worry, we got this," Jason replied without turning, waving him off.

"No killing, Jason," Bruce added firmly.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your cape all twisted up. Just get the fuck out already," Jason replied annoyedly. Bruce paused for a moment before jumping into the batmobile with Tim and Damian along with him. He glanced over at Selina, but she waved her hand dismissively.

"Honestly, I don't do orders so well. I'll help, but I'll do things my own way," she said smoothly, making her way out of the bunker. With that, Bruce revved the engine and took off out of the cave.

Jason glared at his helmet, clenching his fists angrily.

"He still doesn't trust me," Jason muttered. Roy and Dick exchanged a look, then Roy rounded the work bench and patted Jason's shoulder.

"Fuck him! Dick and I have your back," Roy said with a grin. Jason smirked alightly and nodded.

"Yeah, thanks. Though honestly, I suppose I can't blame him. Still, it pisses me off. I've been playing by his rules for a while now, and honestly, it kinda sucks," Jason ground out. "If I'd've done things my way, none o f this would be happening," he said darkly. Dick flinched at the severity in his tone, but he didn't say anything. He wasn't going to doubt Jason again; he made a promise not to, but with everything going on...

"Relax Dickie, no one's dying today. I made you a promise, remember?" he asked, flashing a smirk and donning his helmet.

"I...didn't say anything," Dick said sheepishly. Jason gave a shrug of his shoulders.

"You didn't have to, Goldie. I know you," he said, moving toward his motorcycle with Roy behind him. "Forget it, I'm not mad. Calm your ass, Grayson," Jason teased, flipping Dick off. Dick huffed a little but smiled nonetheless and flipped Jason off, back. It annoyed him how well Jason knew him sometimes, but it was also rather endearing. He watched the two men race off, out of the cave, then resigned himself to monitor duty.

"Don't worry Dick, he'll be fine," Barbara reassured him, patting his shoulder.

"Am I that obvious?" Dick asked with a smile, glancing up at her. Barbara giggled a bit, donning her own cowl.

"Only to the whole rest of the world, Dick," she replied, hopping on her own motorcycle and peeling out of the cave. Dick started typing away on the computer before him, bringing up feeds, files, cameras and more; anything that could help. It wasn't difficult for him to figure this computer out. He'd practically mastered the Batcomputer, and Jason's system wasn't quite as complex.

"Alright, listen; Joker has turned Arkham Asylum into his own personal playground and from what I can see here, it's swarming with clown-faced freaks," Dick said smoothly, switching between the various camera feeds throughout the asylum. "I don't see the Joker himself, but you can expect Harley, at least."

"Good work, Nightwing. Anything else?" Batman asked. Dick clacked away at the keyboard, sifting through more of the cameras. "Well, he's got his hyenas there too, so, be ready for them. As far as I can tell, all of Arkham Island is under the Joker's control."

"Figures. Arkham is like a summer home to that pasty freak," came Jason's voice over the comm link. "Of course, if I have my way, it'll be his grave," he added.

"Jason," Bruce said over the link.

"Calm your cowl. I'm not interested in a lecture," Jason shot back.

"Focus!" Dick growled at the both of them pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Now you know what it's like to play Oracle for all those years," Barbara teased. Dick laughed a bit in response, until he heard Batman clear his throat. Dick cleared his own throat and got serious again, sitting up straight.

"Blackgate is a bit more of a mess. Many of the inmates stayed behind and took over the place. From what I can tell, those still there are all suffering from Delirium; Hood, Arsenal, be careful. The more aggressive ones have left, but you're still going to find a lot of crazies running around in there," Dick said.

"It's a prison; they're all crazy," Jason replied. Dick snorted.

"You know what I meant."

"So, what's the situation?"

"Well, the architecture is still intact, so once you take the place back, it should be easy enough to maintain. Provided we can get the GCPD to send someone down to keep it shut for good," Dick replied. "We'll need to find a cure for the Delirium though, or any solutions we come up with will be temporary."

"Right. Let me focus on that," came an elderly man's voice over the comm link.

"Lucius?" Dick asked, a bit surprised. The man chuckled a bit in response.

"Yes. Figured you could use an extra hand with this one. If someone can get me a sample, I can begin analyzing it and synthesizing a cure," Licius replied.

"Consider it done," Batman answered.

"Alright then, happy hunting everyone and good luck. We're going to need it," Dick replied, sifting through the cameras to check out the damage; to say it was extensive, would be a massive understatement. Downtown Gotham was in complete disarray, with criminals and psychopaths running around everywhere and innocent people trapped inside, being victimized everywhere, ti was going to take _a lot_ to fix this.


	3. Chapter 3

Blackgate Penitentiary; formerly a prison, now a mad house. Jason and Roy stopped some distance away, hiding the motorcycle and camouflaging it as an added precaution. From there. The two vigilantes made their way to the prison in stealth in order to scout the place out and get a better idea of what they would be facing.

The two of them stuck to the shadows and circled the perimeter. It was every bit as bad as Dick had said; all of the prisoners were affected by Delirium and the effects were all over the place. Some of them seemed like they were hopped up on steroids, some were talking and muttering to themselves, others were laughing hysterically at nothing or anything, and other still looked just plain out of it. Worse still, not a single guard could be spotted. Well, not a _living_ guard anyway. To put it simply, the situation was _bad_.

"Damn. How exactly are we going to take this place back, Jaybird?" Roy asked, glancing over at the anti-hero. Jason glanced back at him, before turning his attention back to the prison. He was silent for a time, considering all their options. The architecture was still intact, as Dick had said, which meant that the rioters had likely stormed right out the front gate, likely the more aggressive ones. They could just attack the place and put down the remaining prisoners, but with no 'guards' to hold them, that wouldn't do any good. Besides that, there was no telling how exactly these Delirium crazed fools would react to their presence. Things could get ugly, fast; there were still over a hundred prisoners left inside.

Finally, Jason glanced over at Roy as a few ideas came to mind; no sense in a plan, especially since they always went awry, and because they were dealing with so many unknown factors.

"You got any knock-out gas?" Jason asked. Roy pondered the question for a moment, then reached back to his quiver and pulled out a dozen or so arrows.

"I've got gas arrows, polyurethane foam arrows, and-" Roy paused, putting the arrows back in his quicker and reaching into his utility belt "-smoke pellets, naturally. I also brought this baby," Roy added with a grin, grabbing a gun he'd strapped to his back. "Freeze Gun! Built this baby back during our Outlaw days. Tweaked it a bit back at your bunker."

Jason heaved a sigh and shook his head.

"A freeze gun? Not exactly original," Jason replied, but with a teasing tone. Roy gave a shrug of his shoulders.

"Nope, but it gets the job done!" Roy answered with a cheeky grin. "So, what's the plan then, Jaybird?" Jason looked back toward the prison, eyes narrowing.

"There isn't one. Unless 'take out as many prisoners as possible' is a plan," Jason replied, glancing over at Roy. "Too many unknowns for a damn plan here. May as well just wing it."

"Cool, I like it! Let's get to it then," Roy replied cheerily, pulling out a grappling gun and firing a line toward the prison. Jason followed suit, and the mission to take back Blackgate Penitentiary began. The two black and red clad vigilantes touched down inside the walls of Blackgate, then made their way inside. The front part of the prison seemed empty, but once they got further in, they could hear shouts, laughs, jeers and more, coming from further inside.

"Red Hood, Arsenal," came Dick's voice over the comm link. The two vigilantes hid in the shadows as some prisoners passed by; they weren't ready to give up their anonymity yet.

"What is it, Nightwing?" Jason asked. There was a pause, save for the sound of keys clacking away on Jason's computer back at the bunker.

"I've hacked into the cameras in the prison. You should head to Cell Block C first; it has the lightest population. Most of the prisoners there are under the more tame effects of Delirium. It shouldn't be too hard to take that block back."

"What about prison staff? Any survivors?" Roy asked then. There was another pause from Dick, ans the sounds of keys clacking on a keyboard sounded again.

"I've got something on one of the cameras. Looks like the Warden and about a dozen or so guards are holed up in the barracks. A wise decision; they've managed to keep the bulk of the weapons and equipment out of the hands of the prisoners and escapees," Dick answered. Jason hummed a bit at the news; it was a start, but how a dozen prison guards were supposed to hold this place, he didn't know.

"Right. Thanks Nightwing. See what you can find out about the other Cell Blocks in the meantime," Jason replied.

"On it. Stay safe and...I love you" Dick replied. Jason groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, I love me too. Mushy shit later," Jason quipped back, earning snort of held back laughter from Dick. He glanced back at Roy who wiggled his eyebrows at him. Jason's only response was to elbow him in the side playfully.

The two of them proceeded toward Cell Block C in stealth mode, keeping to the shadows and avoiding being seen. Both of them knew each other well and worked together like a well-oiled machine. They didn't need to exchange many words in order to work together, they just did. And so it was silently decided that they'd take down Cell Block C first, then work their way back, taking out the prisoners on the way and repeat the process for each block.

They arrived in Cell Block C to find the prisoners scattered across both floors of the block and as Dick had told them, most of them were pretty much out of it. Some were laughing like fools, others huddled in corners seeing monsters where there were none, and other still held conversations with people who simply weren't there. It would seem as if they could just drop in and take them out, but as before, there was no telling how they'd react. They could turn violent in an instant.

Jason and Roy exchanged a look, then Roy nodded and drew a knock-out gas arrow from his quiver. As silently as a wraith, Roy moved up to the second level of the Block, finding a nice, well shadowed place to hide in as he nocked the arrow, aiming it for the middle of the room. Jason moved toward the opposite side, readying a pair of hand guns armed with electric bullets and silences to take out an stragglers quickly. The two exchanged another look, then Roy fired his arrow. The arrow left the bow with an audible _twang_ , embedding in the floor in the middle of the room.  
Some of the prisoners grew curious and moved toward it, but the more paranoid ones started freaking out. Smoke started venting from the arrow shaft, filling the room. As the prisoners breathed it in, they fell to the floor, unconscious. Those on the upper level were alerted to what was going on down below, but with a few, quick and well-placed shots, Jason disabled them quickly.

With a quick scan of the area, the two vigilantes noted that the cell block was clear, and thus they began dragging the prisoners into cells and locking them shut. Jason hopped down to the lower level, joining Roy below, then nodded down toward the hallway.

"Right, next block," Jason said smoothly. Roy gave a nod in reply, and they headed off, taking down the stragglers and putting them in cells.

"Red Hood, Arsenal, I've got news about the other cell blocks," Dick said over the comm link.

"What've you got, Nightwing?" Jason asked. The familiar sound of fingers clacking across a keyboard sounded over the link for a few moments before Dick spoke again.

"So Cell Blocks A, B, and E are more dangerous than C, but it's nothing you guys shouldn't be able to handle," Dick said smoothly.

"And Cell Block D?" Roy asked. Dick hummed over the link, causing Jason and Roy to exchange a look. There was a reason for that hum, and a reason Dick left that block for last. It had to be the worst of the five blocks.

"D is under the control of Penguin. He remained unaffected by the Delirium gas, somehow. His cell was on the upper floor. He might've been out of reach of the stuff. Or he covered his face; he's a bit smarter than the average prisoner," Dick said.

"Penguin? In charge? Why isn't that surprising?" Jason growled.

"You'll need help with Cell Block D. All of the most aggressive inmates that hadn't escaped are there, acting as both Penguins entertainment and bodyguards. I'd suggest taking care of the other Cell Blocks first, then going to the Warden and the remaining guards and getting their help dealing with Penguin," Dick said.

"Thanks Nightwing," Jason replied, turning to Roy. He cracked his knuckles, grinning from ear to ear. "Well then, looks like we've got our work cut out for us. You ready?" he asked. Roy chuckled in amusement, grabbing his bow again.

"Ready when you are, Jaybird," Roy replied.

Jason and Roy moved through the prison and took each Cell Block, one-by-one. The fighting grew heavier as they went, but they remained in stealth between each Cell Block in order to keep from attracting too much attention. Cell Block E proved to be the toughest to take over. It had a number of more aggressive prisoners to contend with and they fought like madmen. Cell Block E eventually fell too, however, and the two vigilantes were certain that their presence had been detected by now. Patrols of prisoners began to form, apparently looking for the intruders; them. They proved easy to elude, however; being hopped up on Delirium robbed them of their senses and thus making them easier to evade.

With Dick's directions, they easily found the Barracks, which were surrounded by over a dozen _very_ aggressive, _very_ pissed off convicts. Jason and Roy exchanged looks before wordlessly deciding on the direct approach. Stealth would do them little good here. So the two vigilantes dropped down from the level above and landed behind the mob of convicts who turned and glared at them with bloodlust in their eyes.

"Kill 'em!" One of them shouted angrily, before the two men could get a word in edgewise.

"How rude. Didn't even let us give them the option of an 'easy way', first!" Roy said, ducking back from a punch, then deflecting a metal bar with his bow.

"I know right? They don't teach people manners anymore," Jason replied, pistol whipping one thug, while firing his other gun into the crowd, nailing five of them with electric bullets. The rest came at him and Roy with the fury of a guy on roid rage, but once again, the Delirium gave them the advantage; they were slow, dumb, and overly aggressive, and thus easy to put down. Of course that wasn't to say that their attacks didn't still hurt when they actually landed a blow. Jason took a couple of punches, and Roy took a few to his shoulder and jaw. It hurt like hell. But soon, all of them were on the ground, and Roy held with in place with a foam arrow as an extra measure.

"You're not getting in! Just give it up!" came a man's voice from the other side of the door. Jason and Roy both approached the door, exchanging a look before giving a knock.

"Hey, we took out those convicts out here. We're here to help!" Roy said.

"Bullshit," the man replied.

"Look, we're with Batman. We're the Red Hood and Arsenal—"

"The Red Hood?! Then shove off! You're no better than the rest of them!" the man shouted back, venom in his tone. Jason pinched the bridge of his nose and heaved an exasperated sigh.

"Once upon a time, maybe. Look, you want this shit show in Downtown Gotham to end? Then we need to help each other! We're taking back the prison so we have somewhere to send the trash that escaped. Now you can either come out and help us, or stay hidden like a bunch of cowards while convicts tear through an entire section of the city and terrorize innocent people. Your call," Jason said evenly. Jason and Roy exchanged another look as a silence pervaded the area. Finally, the door unlocked and came open, revealing an entire room full of an assortment of weapons, and the Warden and twelve prison guards.

The Warden, a tall man with chocolate brown hair and dressed in a black uniform with a gold badge on his chest, stepped forward, glaring at The Red Hood.

"Fine. I get your point. I don't like you or the way you operate, but if you're really here to help, then I guess we're on the same team. For once," the Warden replied. Jason gave a curt nod and gestured toward the prison.

"Good. Grab some gear; we've taken back every block but Cell Block D. We've got intel that its the most heavily fortified with the most dangerous of the Delirium addled jackasses, and...well, frankly it'll be easier to take with some help."

"Wow, you two cleared the whole prison by yourselves?!" One of the guards asked, astonished. Jason gave a shrug.

"Not the whole prison. Just the inside. The prison grounds are still riddled with convicts, but the actual prison is the most important part," Jason replied.,

"We can deal with the rest later," Roy added. The Warden gave a nod.

"Agreed," the Warden replied. He turned to his remaining men and cleared his throat. "Alright, listen up! Grab everything you can carry and let's take back our prison!" the Warden called. The men turned back inside the barracks and started grabbing up any weapons they could find.

"Nightwing. How's the situation in D block?" Jason asked.

"They're aware that you're here, but they're not doing much. Penguin is enjoying a little blood sport at the moment," Dick replied. Jason snorted derisively.

"Great. Well, time to put that beaky little bastard in his place."

Jason and Roy made their way down the hallway, nonchalantly, toward D Block. There they found Penguin sitting atop a makeshift throne made of debris from the riots, being fanned and served by other Prison Staff; non-combatants. The usual Delirium-addled convicts were scattered across both levels, with the more aggressive ones cheering on the fighting on the ground level. Two aggressive convicts were beating each other senseless. Jason noted a pile of dead bodies nearby, both Prison Guards and other convicts.

Penguin sipped a glass of wine with his Umbrella open above his head, still wearing his orange jumpsuit, and glaring down at his 'entertainment' with a wicked grin on his face. When he finally deigned to acknowledge Red Hood and Arsenal's presence, it was with a derisive laugh.

"Well, look what we have here; two wanna-be heroes, thinking they have the gall to take on The Penguin," the short, pudgy, hook-nosed man said with another laugh. All attention fell onto the two vigilantes, but they remained unperturbed by the sudden silence.

"Kill 'em! KILL 'EM!" one of the pit fighters screamed angrily. Soon, chanting of 'kill 'em' started filling the room. Penguin heaved a sigh and shrugged.

"Well, who am I to deny my people their entertainment! Kill 'em!" Penguin called with a vicious grin. "You should've brought an army! Bwahahahaha!" Penguin cackled. Jason and Roy exchanged a look and laughed.

"Well, I wouldn't call them an 'army', but we didn't exactly come alone," Roy replied, grinning from ear to ear as the remaining prison guards charged in with weapons drawn. Penguin growled and threw his glass to the floor, pointing at the vigilantes and prison guards.

"Kill 'em all!"

"Still the same Narcissistic douche as ever, eh Penguin?" Jason said slyly, joining the fray.

"Still the same puffed-up wanna-be hero, eh 'Hood'?" Penguin growled back, grabbing up his umbrella and withdrawing the knife from the tip of it.

"Give it a rest, Penguin. You might be tough, but you're not in my league," Jason taunted. "You always come up a little 'short'," He added for additional effect. Penguin growled and lunged at him, but Jason didn't need to do anything but dodge. In his anger, Penguin forgot about Arsenal. The red archer fired his freeze gun and trapped Penguin in place.

Jason and Roy then turned back to the fighting, joining the Prison Guards in taking down the remaining convicts. The chaos ensued for a good twenty minutes, but eventually the convicts fell one-by-one. Without the rest of the prisoners to back them up, they had no reinforcements, and only improvised weapons. Eventually, all the prisoners were back in their cells, save for the ones wandering the prison grounds.

"Huh. I was expecting more of a fight with this place, honestly," Jason said, clapping his hands together. The Warden strode up to the two vigilantes and extended his hand.

"Red Hood. Arsenal. Thanks for the assist," he said. Jason and Roy each shook the man's hand in turn. Jason was about to speak up when they heard footsteps from from behind them. They all turned to see Harvey Bullock with over a dozen GCPD officers in riot gear approaching.

"Well, as I live and breath. The Red Hood. And you...Arsenal was it?" the large man asked.

"Gonna arrest me, officer?" Jason asked in a smug tone. Harvey gave a snort, puffing on his cigar.

"I'd love to be the guy that bags your ass, but for now, we got bigger fish to fry," Harvey replied, pushing past the two vigilantes. He turned to them once more and said "Gordon told me you were changin'. Still don't quite believe it. But if you're here helpin' out? Well," Harvey added, shrugging his shoulders before aiding in the efforts to restore the prison. Jason turned to the Warden and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You need help with the trash outside too?"

"Nah, I think we can take it from here, now that we have reinforcements. I'm guessing the rest of Downtown needs you more," the Warden replied. Jason gave a nod, then turned to Roy and nodded toward the exit of Blackgate.

"Nightwing, Blackgate is secure. How's Arkham coming?"

"There are...some complications."


	4. Chapter 4

The batmobile raced through the city, dodging and weaving through wrecked cars, fires dotting the streets, and civilians and convicts alike running to and fro in the chaos. Bruce glared ahead, finding it difficult to ignore the people in need and the criminals and Delirium-addled psychopaths running loose, terrorizing people, but there was little that could be done at the moment. He'd amend that as soon as they regained control over Arkham and Blackgate and from all reports from Dick and Alfred, Jason and Roy were making excellent progress on that front.

"Don't worry Bruce. Selina and I will do the best we can to protect the civilians," came Barbara's voice over the comm link. Batman's expression remained unchanged even as Arkham came into sight ahead. The car raced across the bridge and through the broken gate, squealing to a stop outside of the Asylum.

"Good work," Bruce replied, hopping out of the Batmobile, both Tim and Damian doing likewise.

"Batman, I can go and help them if need be. I'm sure you and Robin can handle it," Tim said in response. Bruce was silent for a few moments, then nodded toward the Asylum; the entire island was swarming, not just with Joker clowns, but also with all of the Delirium victims and regular patients as well. There was no telling what kind of chaos was going on inside the asylum itself, but with the outside in such a state of chaos, the inside was surely far worse.

Bruce turned to Damian and Tim.

"Go the Strange's laboratory, see if you can find more Delirium to send to Lucius to synthesize a cure," Bruce said evenly. Tim and Damian departed to find the laboratory, leaving Bruce to tackle the Asylum by himself. As he approached the Asylum, however, Joker Clowns and Delirium victims alike set their sights on him, and they attacked. Bruce's eyes narrowed, but he knew he had to be careful so as not to hurt them too badly; most of them were victims after all.

The Joker Clowns came at him with various melee weapons, laughing like lunatics, or raving like madmen. Bruce found them easy do deal with as usual, but the Delirium took their already insane minds and made them _more_ insane; they fought like madmen. But they were untrained, unlike Batman, so they stood no chance. As for the non-criminal patients, Bruce took them down as quickly and painlessly as possible, mostly using counter attacks to avoid inflicting too much damage.

With them incapacitated, he made his way inside the Asylum. The inside of the Asylum was utter chaos, with patients and psychotics running around, screaming, laughing, cowering in corners, and objects flying. The situation was dire, indeed.

"Alfred, can you access the security cameras?" Bruce asked over the comm link. There was a silence from Alfred's end for several moments. Then –

"Done, Master Bruce. I have access to the Asylum's security system," Alfred replied.

"Good. See if you can locate any of the Asylum staff," Bruce answered, making his way inside the Asylum. He pulled several black pellets from his utility belt and threw them into the first room. They released sleeping gas into the air, and Bruce donned a rebreather. The patients fell to the floor unconscious as they breathed in the gas, while Bruce made his way further into the Asylum. That gas would keep them under for a good few hours at least, giving him time to try and restore order to the Asylum.

"Master Bruce, I'm afraid you are not alone in the Asylum. Aside from the usual patients and psychopaths, of course," Alfred replied. Bruce's eyes narrowed dangerously as he made his way down one of the corridors, taking out Joker Clowns and disabling patients as he went.

"Who else is here, Alfred?" Bruce asked.

"League Assassins," Alfred answered. Bruce growled lowly; if the League was here, it was certainly not to help the situation, but rather, to make it worse.

"What about Ra's? Is he still here?" Bruce asked. Another silence as Alfred checked all of the cameras.

"It seems not. But I should note the League seems to be avoiding Miss Quinzel and her cohorts alone," Alfred replied. Bruce growled a bit and kept moving down the hallways of the Asylum, taking taking down thugs and incapacitating patients as he went. He cam across corpses of Asylum staffers and other patients as he went.

"Of course. They're allowing her to sow as much chaos here as possible," Bruce replied. He continued to move through the Asylum with a plan to find the League and take them out, as well as Harley Quinn. As long as those two factions remained active in the Asylum, there was no getting this place operational again. The remaining staff, if there were any, would be in constant danger.

"I have some news on the staff members of the Asylum," came Alfred's voice once more. Bruce remained silent, waiting patiently for the news. "The Warden appears to be dead along with roughly a quarter of the staff, mostly guards. But there are survivors."

"And?"

"Well, it's not good, sir. Some of the staff has hidden away in safety in an abandoned wing of the Asylum. Others are hidden in small groups throughout, and others still...well, they are being...tortured by the inmates."

"Where?" Bruce asked, picking up the pace.

"Scattered throughout the Asylum," Alfred answered evenly. Bruce grunted in response and kicked open a door, finding the first of the tortured staffers.

Tim and Damian made their way through the cave system toward Hugo Strange's laboratory. With any luck, the GCPD wouldn't have been there yet and some samples of Delirium would be there. Naturally, the two argued most of the way there, though truth be told, they got a long better these days than they used to; they weren't trying to kill each other anymore (literally, on Damian's part).

"Silence, Drake! I know what to do so stop patronizing me or-"

"Or what?" Tim snapped back and Damian growled, biting back a reply. Tim took that as a win a smirked a little, but bit back a reply of his own. For a change. They came to the lab but found the door destroyed. They exchanged a look and drew their weapons; Tim his bo staff and Damian, his katana. The two of them crept into the lab to find the place mostly intact, except -

"The tanks!" Tim called, pointing at the shattered, empty tanks, the fluid inside spilled all over the floor. Tim and Damian put their weapons away and moved through the lab, finding every tank shattered and empty. The two of them exchanged a look; this wasn't good. Damian kept investigating the rest of the lab, but Tim moved toward the computer, hacking into its systems to see what he could find.

"Oh no," Tim breathed, eyes staring at the screen in shock. Damian seemingly ignored him, but did glance back at the screen while he continued to look for the Delirium. Tim kept clacking away at the keyboard, bringing up more of Strange's files. He set that aside for the moment to see what he could find on the missing 'experiments'. He managed to find surveillance footage that showed League Assassins releasing Strange's experiments. Tim's eyes widened even further and he spun around to Damian.

"We have to contact the others _right now_ ," Tim called to Damian.

"Found the Delirium. Here, you can take it to Fox. I'm going to join my father," Damian said evenly, ignoring Tim yet again. Tim caught the vial of Delirium and put it safely into his utility belt, then glared at Damian.

"Did you not here me?! The situation has gone from _bad_ to _worse_ ," Tim snapped. Damian snorted in response, crossing his arms over his chest and flashing a smug grin.

"How much worse could it get? Batman and his heir are here; it's as good as over already," Damian snarked. Tim growled and turned back to the computer, ignoring Damian's _arrogance_ for the moment. He pulled up the files on Strange's experiments and pointed at the screen.

"The League of Assassins has loosed Strange's Monster Men on the city," Tim snapped. He turned back to the screen and added "people he's kidnapped from the Asylum or brought back from the dead, altered and programmed to believe he is their master and that they're some kind of _legendary_ figures. The man is _literally_ playing god, and _you_ think that just because _you're_ here, that it's already _handled_?!"

Damian snorted in response and left the laboratory with out another word, leaving Tim to massage his temples, aggravated by Damian's attitude. Tim turned back to the computer and started uploading the data on it to the Batcomputer, as well as Jason's at his bunker underneath Crime Alley. He uploaded a virus into the systems to erase all of the data on it, then left the laboratory and headed back into the cave system.

"Alfred, Dick, can you read me?" Tim asked over his comm link.

"Loud and clear, Tim," Dick replied.

"Of course, Master Timothy," came Alfred's voice next.

"I just uploaded Strange's data to both of you. The League loosed his Monster Men on Downtown Gotham. We've got to warn everyone; the situation has just gotten a lot more complicated," Tim replied.

Bruce took down another three Joker Clowns, and a couple of inmates, freeing another of the staffers, a guard this time, and sent him to the abandoned wing of the asylum to wait with the rest of the surviving staff. From there, Bruce took to hunting down Harley Quinn and the League Assassins.

"Father," Damian said in a low tone, stopping beside Bruce inside the asylum. Bruce glanced down at the boy, giving a glare before turning back toward the hallway ahead, watching as four of Joker's Clowns came rounding the corner.

"Robin, did you find the -"

"The Delirium, yes. Red Robin is taking it to Fox," Damian replied evenly, grabbing several batarangs from his utility belt. "He was also concerned about some monsters the League may have released from the lab. I told him not to worry because we're here."

Bruce grunted in response, but mentally cursed; more monsters was the last thing they needed to contend with on top of everything else. But for now, they had to focus on the Asylum. The Dynamic Duo leaped into battle with a flurry of batarangs, flying fists and melee weapons from the Joker's thugs. Once incapacitated, the two of them moved on through the Asylum. They didn't get far before they found themselves facing down Harley Quinn.

"There ya are! Yer Trespassin' on my Puddin's summer home!" Harley Quinn, dressed in her infamous black and red jester costume, said. She hefted her mallet over her shoulder and ordered the other Joker Thugs to attack.

"Robin, go get the Asylum Staff and help them secure the Asylum," Bruce ordered.

"Batman-" Damian attempted to argue.

"Now!" Bruce snapped. Damian snorted in response, but left Batman's side to rally the staff to take back the Asylum.

"Aw, he's gonna miss the fun bit! Us, breakin' the bat!" Harley Quinn said with a giggle. Batman ducked a baseball bat, then dodged backwards to avoid Harley's mallet. He tripped up an approaching thug, then shoved him into two others, knocking them off balance and sending them crashing into a wall. Three more came at him, but he threw down a handful of smoke pellets fogging up the room. Harley gasped and attempted to retreat as she heard the pained yelps from her cohorts.

"What a cheat! Come out and fight like a bat!" Harley called back, moving away from the smoke, her mallet at the ready. Several batarangs flew out from the smoke, which Harley blocked with ehr hammer. Batman lunged out at her moments afterward with an uppercut that she narrowly avoided. As she brought her mallet down at him, Batman weaved out of the way and threw a small bolas at her feet. The wire wrapped around her ankles and tripped her up as she dodged backward, sending her crashing to the floor. She growled and swung her mallet again from the floor, but Batman caught it, then tied up her wrists.

"Aw nuts," she pouted. She giggled then when she looked up and saw more Joker clowns and deranged inmate rounding the corner. The sound of demented cackling ripped from the throats of a few of them; it was hard to tell the Delirium victims from the Joker's personal gang members. But fortunately, he didn't need to; Robin returned with several security guards and nurses in tow, all armed with non-lethal weaponry. "Aw nuts!" Harley repeated again with another pout.

"Robin and I will handle this," Batman said evenly, eyes narrowing at the patients before them, holding his arm out to block the staff members' approach. He glanced at Robin and the two nodded to each other silently before leaping at their enemies. Working together like a well-oiled machine, the duo took them out, one-by-one, until they lay on a heap in the middle of the hallway.

"Where's the Joker?" Batman asked Harley with a glare. Harley pouted and turned her head.

"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you, Batsy!" Harley replied, sticking out her tongue at him. Batman growled, turning away from them.

"Can you handle it from here?" he asked. A tall, blonde man with glasses stepped forward, pushing his glasses up his nose with a finger, and nodded.

"Yes sir. As the…acting Director of the Asylum, I'll see to it that it gets up and running again," the man replied, holding out his hand. Batman nodded, shaking the man's hand. The man sighed, raking a hand through his blonde hair.

"I wanted a promotion, but…not like this," he said.

"Things rarely ever work out the way we want them to," Batman replied. He turned to Robin and gestured for him to follow. "Let's go, Robin." The duo left the Asylum in the care of the staffers, but reluctantly; neither of them had seen a trace of the League which was curious.

"Any update on the League? Or Strange's monsters?" Bruce asked over the comm link as they neared the batmobile.

"Yeah, I've got-" Dick began, but he was interrupted by Jason.

"Yeah, I got one of those lunatics here!" Jason called over the link, followed by a grunt and the sounds of combat. "He's calling himself 'Azrael'. Looks like something out of a bad fantasy movie," Jason replied.

"We got it handled!" Roy added in as the sound of an arrow being loosed from a quiver followed. Batman growled in response.

"Jaybird?!" Dick asked a little worriedly.

"Relax Goldie, we got this!"

"Right, well," Dick replied, clearing his throat a bit "we don't really know what we're looking for, as far as Strange's monsters are concerned, but there's one of the cameras picked up footage of a woman near Jezebel Plaza in some kind of suit with a flamethrower," Dick added.

"What about the League?" Bruce asked.

"Ra's was spotted with Sensei near the old Gotham Cathedral Square," Alfred put in. Bruce's eyes narrowed and he hopped into the Batmobile with Robin beside him.

"Then we have our destination. What about Strange? Has anyone seen him?"

"No, nothing. It's like he just… _vanished_ ," Dick answered.

"Hmm," Bruce hummed to himself before peeling away from Arkham.

"Focus on what we know for now, but keep your eyes peeled for Strange."


	5. Chapter 5

Barbara, a.k.a Batgirl, raced across the roof tops of Downtown Gotham, also known as Old Gotham, and 'The Slums' by the elite. All hell was breaking loose down in the streets below and all anyone could do for the moment, was try and save whoever they could. She had connections with the GCPD, namely her father, James Gordon. He'd known for a while that she had been Batgirl, and later Oracle, and had finally confronted her recently.

She'd managed to set up a safe zone, with her father's help, at The East End Free Clinic, run by Doctor Leslie Thompkins. She'd set the clinic up years ago to dedicate her skill to help Gotham's less fortunate, including criminals. The clinic was the one place Gotham's Underworld left untouched, and the only 'neutral ground' in Old Gotham. However, with Delirium-addled lunatics running around, keeping it safe would be a problem, so she and the Commissioner arranged to have some of the GCPD come down and protect the building.

As Barbara made her way through the chaos, she got a contact from Dick.

"Batgirl, can you hear me?" Dick called. Barbara stopped on top of one of the apartment buildings

"What is it Nightwing?" she asked, pacing on the roof a bit.

"I think Ja-Red Hood and Arsenal are in trouble. They've encountered one of Strange's Monsters. Do you think you can lend them a hand?" Dick asked. Barbara gave a little laugh, followed by a coo.

"Aw, are you worried about your boyfriend?" she teased. She giggled some more upon hearing the other sputter a bit on the other end of the line.

"Yes, okay? I am! But this is serious!"

"Alright, alright, calm down! I'm on it," she replied, shooting a line to the building across the way. She looked down a the streets below as she flew overheard; swinging from building to building would've been faster than by vehicle with the streets clogged with junk and people fighting, rioting and looting.

"They were last spotted leaving Blackgate Isle," Dick replied. "And for the record, sitting back doing nothing, really sucks. I don't know how you did it, Babs." Barbara laughed in amusement as she sailed through the air.

"Well, it wasn't all bad. I may not have been in the field, but I know my job was important. Right?" she asked.

"Right," Dick replied, his tone a little lighter. As Barbara soared through the air, she spotted both Jason and Roy, struggling with a man in black armor, armed with a sword. She'd never seen him before and neither had anyone else, which led to only on conclusion; whoever he was, he had to be one of Strange's monsters. That was soon confirmed as she touched down on a nearby roof. On top of being unknown, the man appeared to have the reflexes of a snake, and the strength of an ox, easily flipping a car to use it as a shield against Jason's bullets.

"I am Azrael!" the man shouted, slashing at Jason. Jason ducked back from one swipe, then another, and another.

"Yeah, we heard you before, Lancelot," Jason snapped, landing a punch on the man's face. The man barely staggered before he kicked at Jason's ankle. Jason cursed loudly in pain as he stumbled back, then fell to the ground. Before he could react, 'Azrael' bad the blade of his sword against Jason's neck.

"I am an angel of death, and you have been marked. Accept your death with dignity," Azrael said haughtily. Jason snorted, glaring at the man defiantly.

"Yeah, I already tried that once. It didn't stick," he snarked. Azrael's face remained passive as he raised his blade to deliver the killing blow. Batgirl swung down from the building above and kicked Azrael full force, sending him flying backward and crashing into a car. She turned to Jason and held out her hand, a smirk tugging at her lips. Jason grabbed her hand and she helped him to his feet.

"You know Jason, I never took you for a damsel in distress," Barbara teased. Jason chuckled in responded, rolling his shoulder a little.

"That's funny, 'coz I always pictured you as the knight in shining armor," Jason replied. The two of them glanced over to Roy as the man groaned and pushed himself up off of the ground, shoving a trashcan that had fallen on top of him aside.

"Ow. Did anyone get the number on that bus?" Roy murmured, rubbing his neck as he joined the other two. The three of them turned their attention back to Azrael, as he peeled himself off of the now wrecked car.

"Very well then; you have all been marked for death!" Azrael called, pointing his sword at each of them in turn.

"So this is one of Strange's poor experiments?" Barbara asked, leaning toward Jason. Jason gave a nod in reply.

"So I'd guess. Some poor shmuck named Theo Galavan," Jason whispered back. They didn't have much time to continue on before the man, Azrael, lunged at him, swinging his sword. The three vigilantes dodged the attack, then turned to counter attack. Barbara threw a right hook, and Jason fired several rounds at him. Arsenal stood across the street and fired a few trick arrows.

Azrael was faster though, deflecting Barbara's attack and kicking her in the stomach, then dodging backward to avoid the gunfire. He dropped to the ground and the arrows sailed overhead. Jason came at him first, bringing his boot down, but Azrael rolled over on his back and caught his foot, wrenching to the side and tripping him up. Jason fell to the ground and his back slammed against the pavement. The air was thrown out of his lungs as he gasped for breath. As Azrael recovered, Barbara came at him, and threw a series of punches. He blocked most of them, with a few finding purchase at his shoulders and chest. He stumbled back, but as she brought her leg forward for a strike, he grabbed her leg and threw her into Roy as he came at him.

"It is no use! I am Azrael! An Angel of death! You cannot defeat me!"

"Yeah, yeah, Azrael, angel of death, blah, blah, blah. We've heard it a thousand times pal. Give it a rest," Jason snorted, taking a fighting stance; this time, he opted to wait for Azrael to strike first.

"You shall be the first that I strike down," the man said, coming at him and bringing his blade down at Jason in a deadly arc. Jason blocked the attack with a gauntlet, then punched Azrael in the stomach. He followed up with an uppercut, then grabbed the man by the front of his armor and headbutted him. As Azrael stumbled backward, Roy slammed his bow into his stomach, then Barbara followed up with a spin kick, sending him crashing into some trash cans nearby.

"This is not how this ends," Azrael growled. As the three of them moved in to out an end to the fight, he grabbed two trashcan lids and threw one; one of them struck Roy and sent him tumbling head over heels backwards. He used the other like a shield as Barbara brought her foot down and shoved her back. Jason attempted to deliver a kick, but Azrael caught his foot and threw him backward. The man got to his feet and grabbed up his sword, swinging it in a wild arc at Jason. Jason back flipped to avoid the attack, but he spun on the spot and instead struck at Barbara. She yelped at the blade slashed her side, ripping the Kevlar and leaving a shallow cut on her side.

"Alright, game's over. Back to your basement, buddy," Jason growled, lunging at Azrael. He ducked a sword swipe and punched Azrael in the stomach as hard as he could, then followed up with a series of blows. Roy raced in and Jason ducked backwards as the archer slammed his bow in Azrael's face. Azrael grunted in pain, and as he stumbled backward, Barbara raced forward and planted a double kick right in the middle of his chest. The man stumbled backwards and crashed into a wall, but before he could recover, both Roy and Jason punched the man square in the face, finally knocking him out cold.

Jason, Roy and Barbara breathed heavily from the exertion; that was a hard fight, not just because the guy was both strong and fast, but because he just wouldn't go down.

"Phew. Thanks for the assist Babs," Jason said smoothly. Barbara gave a smirk and a thumbs up.

"Of course. Couldn't let you guys have all the fun now, could I?" she said. The three of them turned and walked down the streets a ways. Jason opened a channel to let the others know what was going on. He looked up at the sky above; stars were already appearing in the sky as night approached.

"Hey listen, we just took out one of Stranger's monster men. D'you want us to drop him off at Arkham?" Jason asked. Bruce came over the comm link next.

"Yes. Bring him to Arkham. With any luck, the doctors there can repair the damage that Strange has done to his mind," Bruce said.

"Is everyone okay?" Dick asked.

"Yeah, we're fine Dickie," Roy replied first.

"Babs swooped in and saved our asses," Jason added, looking over at Barbara, who flashed a smirk. Jason glanced back and forth between his two friends and gave a shrug of his shoulders.

"So, what's next?" he asked.

"Well, I'm going to see if I can't find Selina and see if she needs some help. Haven't heard from her in a while," Barbara said. Jason gave a nod in reply.

"Cool, then Roy and I-" Jason paused, hearing a sound behind him. He turned and Azrael brought his sword down on Jason was a yell. Jason blocked the attack with a gauntlet, but Azrael grabbed a dagger from his side and stabbed Jason. Jason shouted in pain as the dagger pierced his armor and dug into his side. Roy and Barbara gasped, but were on Azrael in an instant; Barbara punched the man in the face, and Roy swung his bow at his legs, knocking him off balance and planting him on his back.

Roy turned and was at Jason's side in an instant while Barbara tired Azrael up with wire.

"You can't-" Azrael began, but Barbara silenced him with a punch to the head, knocking him out again before joining Roy at Jason's side.

Jason grunted in pain as he sagged against the wall of the apartment building behind him, hand clutching the wound on his side.

"Jaybird, are you alright?" Roy asked worriedly, eyes wide with fear. Jason grunted, pulling his hand away to reveal his gloved hand stained crimson.

"Shit, we need to get you out of here," Barbara muttered. Jason chuckled in amusement, followed by another grunt of pain.

"I'll be fine. It's just a flesh wound. The armor took the brunt of it," Jason replied, pushing away from the wall. Barbara's eyes narrowed and she pushed him back against the wall.

"No, we're getting you our of here. Flesh wound or not, you're injured; that makes you vulnerable," Barbara replied.

"Babs," Jason tried to argue, but Barbara shook her head.

"Jason, we already lost you once. We're taking you back to the bunker. Period." Jason was silent for a few moments, eyes locking with hers. He turned to Roy then and shrugged.

"What are my chances of winning this argument?"

"Slim to none," Roy replied with a snort of held back laughter. Jason heaved a sigh and Roy grabbed Jason's arm and wound it around his shoulders, wrapping his own arm around the man's waist.

"Fine, fine. Let's go," Jason replied as Barbara joined him on his other side. Barbara looked back over her shoulder toward the unconscious Azrael and frowned.

"Roy, take him back. I'm going to take this nut to Arkham," Barbara said, pulling away from Jason and Roy. She grabbed Azrael then typed in a command to summon her own motorcycle; Jason had done likewise, and from there, they went their separate ways with Barbara going off to Arkham and Roy and Jason head back for the bunker in Crime Alley.

Roy and Jason made their way into the bunker, Jason grunting in pain when he turned just the wrong way. Dick turned upon hearing their arrived and jumped up from his seat. Roy helped Jason onto a chair nearby and Dick was over by his side in moments.

"What the hell happened?!" Dick asked worriedly, seeing the blood. Roy ignored him for the moment as he tossed Jason's jacket aside and peeled off his armor. Jason sat forward a bit to make it easier. As the armor came off, it revealed a blood-stained bandage on his side. Roy turned to Dick and sighed.

"That Azrael dude got in a cheap shot. Don't worry, he'll be fine. Jaybird, first-aid kit?" Roy asked.

"Bathroom. Medicine cabinet," Jason replied. Roy nodded and moved into the bathroom to find the first aid kit. Dick was silent while they were gone, but one look and Jason could see the worry plastered all over his face.

"Relax Dickie, it's just a flesh wound. A few stitches and I'll be fine," Jason said to him, arching an eyebrow. Dick frowned a bit, but nodded. Roy returned minutes later with the med kit which Dick took from him.

"It's alright, I've got this," Dick said to him, flashing a smile. Roy gave a nod and moved over toward the computer.

"Alrighty, Nightwing is taking a break, so your buddy Arsenal will be your host tonight-" Roy said with a cheeky grin.

"We're all dead," Tim joked.

Dick and Jason chuckled as they joked with each other a bit, until Batman came over the line and spoiled all the fun.

"Why are you so damn worried today?" Jason asked, groaning as Dick began stitching up the wound on his side. Dick looked up at him and arched a brow.

"Uh, because you're my boyfriend?" Dick asked with a chuckle of amusement. Jason snorted in response.

"Yeah, well that's one reason, but there's another. Out with it, Big Bird," Jason replied. Dick huffed a little and focused on his work.

"There isn't. You're my boyfriend; it's my job to worry about you."

"Dick," Jason said firmly. Dick heaved a sigh, pausing for a moment before he continued working on Jason's wound. The last stitch was in place and he stashed the contents of the first aid kit away again. He sat there by Jason's side, on the floor, in silence for a time, with Jason sitting on the chair, waiting patiently. Finally, Dick looked up at Jason with sad eyes.

"Because you died once already, Jay," Dick said softly. Jason sucked in a quick breath at the look on Dick's face, and the sound of his voice. It made sense then.

"Yeah, well, I'm alive now-"

"But what if something happens to you and I…lose you again?" Dick asked, looking away from Jason. Jason heaved a sigh; he wasn't really good at this sentimental crap. Words were not really his thing; actions were. He wasn't like Dick, so he wasn't really adept at expressing his feelings. He wasn't good at all this touchy-feely crap…but for Dick, it was worth a shot. Jason peeled off his gloves and gauntlets and tossed them down on the floor with his armor and jacket. He reached out and gently brushed Dick's jaw with his fingers, turning the man's face to look at him.

"Dick-" Jason paused for a moment, considering his words carefully, and then "look, I died once, and I came back. Now ask Roy how many times death came knocking at my door during our Outlaw days-"

"A lot. Ornery fuck keeps giving Death the slip," Roy joked over his shoulder, earning a chuckle of amusement from Dick.

"Point is, I'm fine, and I ain't going anywhere."

"You keep flirting with death though, Jaybird and-"

"We have a love/hate relationship. What can I say? I'm the one that got away," Jason replied with a grin, and Dick laughed. The older man sighed and pushed himself up onto his feet. He held out his hand to Jason and helped him up out of his chair, then padded back over to the computer.

"Alright Roy, shove off," Dick said with a smile. Roy looked up at him and waved him off.

"Nah, I got this. Go cuddle with your boyfriend," Roy said with a grin, waving him off. Dick blushed a little bit and frowned, but Roy frowned back. "I mean it! Go, shoo, git! You're both injured so you may as well keep each other company."

"Ugh, Roy, I'm fine. It's just a flesh wound," Jason replied, waving him off as he reached for his armor.

"Alfred, Jaybird's hurt and he's trying to go back on patrol," Roy said with a cheeky grin. Jason froze in place.

"Master Jason, I would suggest bed rest. If you need a reason to stay off patrol for a time, I'd be happy to give you one," came Alfred's voice over the computer. Dick snickered in amusement and Jason heaved a sigh, moving across the room to the bed and flopping down onto it, making himself comfortable.

"No, that's okay Alfred, I'm good," Jason replied. Jason glared over at Roy and flipped him off. "Fucking snitch," he teased and Roy just stuck his tongue out at him before turning back to the computer.

Dick padded over to the bed and Jason moved over a bit, making some room. Dick smiled, laying down beside him and heaving a contented sigh as he wormed his way into the man's side. Jason heaved a sigh and wrapped his arm around him.

" _You're_ the one whose gonna be the death of me, Dickie."


	6. Chapter 6

Batman and Robin arrived at Gotham Cathedral Square to find quite an interesting site before them; The League of Assassins were at _war_ with _each other_. Assassins fought one another all over Cathedral Square, and Ra's himself was amongst them. The Sensei, however, was nowhere to be seen. Neither of the Dynamic Duo needed an invitation; they jumped into the fray on their way to reach Ra's al Ghul, taking out assassins on both sides of the 'war', all to reach the Demon's Head himself.

Ra's turned after lopping off the head of a traitor assassin, cleaning his blade off on the dead man's garb. He turned to face Bruce and Damian and gave a derisive snort.

"The detective and the disappointment," Ra's said with a sneer, glaring hatefully at each of them.

"Whatever you're planning Ra's, it ends. Now," Bruce said with a dark glare. Ra's snorted derisively.

"You and I have bigger problems than each other, detective," Ra's replied simply, sheathing his blade and crossing his arms over his chest.

"What are you talking about?"

"You don't know? Hardly surprising. This whole operation was set up right under your nose. It took months of planning, however, and was no easy feat to pull off. But it seems we have both been played," Ra's replied. Damian glanced back and forth between his father and grandfather.

"What are you going on about?" Damian snapped.

"Our mutual enemy, Doctor Strange, betrayed me. He was not supposed to reveal the location of the bombs. We allied with him to destroy Gotham City. My hope was to destroy everything you cherish, before offering you salvation; a place in the League of Assassins," Ra's explain, his face as passive as ever. Bruce growled angrily and charged forward, grabbing Ra's by the front of his green cloak. The Demon's Head didn't so much as flinch.

"You-"

"Strange has an ulterior motive. What that is, I do not know. But I suggest we-"

"Work together? No. I don't trust you. I'm taking you in," Bruce replied. Ra's sneered and jabbed Bruce in the stomach, following up with a series of quick blows. Damian was on him, but Ra's ducked his kick, spinning around and grabbing the boy by the arm before slamming him to the ground. He drew a kris dagger, but Bruce landed an uppercut on the man's jaw before he could strike. Ra's stumbled backwards, and glared as Bruce helped Damian up. He drew a pair of scimitars, hidden beneath his robes and attacked in a flurry of flashing steel.

Batman dodged, ducked, and weaved the blades, catching them on his metal gauntlets when he couldn't avoid the attacks. Ra's still-loyal assassins attempted to take advantage of Batman and Ra's battle, but Damian held them off, drawing his katana. No killing, that was the rule, but there was no rule about making it hurt.

"You are weak, _detective_ ," Ra's taunted, pushing away from the man and flourishing his blades. "Your morality makes you weak, holds you back. Imagine the paradise Gotham could be if you-"

"I'm not like you, and I'm not like the scum that I fight! I won't kill for you, or anyone!" Bruce snarled, blocking a scimitar strike on one gauntlet and deflecting the other blade with an open-palmed strike. Bruce spun to avoid an 'x' slash from both blades, but one of them caught his cape; he unclasped it and set it free, letting the heavy cape fall to the ground as Ra's tore it, ripping his glade free. Bruce took advantage of the distraction, however sleight, and landed a blow to Ra's face, then another to his stomach, following up with an uppercut, and finally a kick to his solar plexis, sending Ra's falling over backwards. He advanced, attempting to take advantage of the situation, but an assassin slipped past Damian and attempted to stab Bruce in the back.

Bruce spun around on the spot and caught the blade in his hands. Damian came up from behind the assassin and jumped up on his shoulders, raining blows on his head before flipping backward, locking his legs around the man's neck. He slammed the assassin into the ground, knocking him out cold. As Bruce turned to face Ra's, the Demon's head landed a pommel strike to Bruce's right flank, then followed up with a slashing attack to his leg. The blade cut through the Kevlar and left a bloody red line on his upper thigh. Bruce cursed in pain, bending a knee for a moment. Ra's brought his other blade down for another strike but Bruce blocked it with a metal gauntlet.

"You're a madman, a psychopath devoid of morality! For all your talk of superiority," Bruce growled, punching the man in the stomach. He got to his feet and kicked the man square in the chest, causing him to fall over backwards "you're just another criminal. An assassin who kills people without remorse."

Ra's pushed himself back up onto his feet, gnashing his teeth and glaring at Bruce and Damian. Shortly thereafter, Barbara joined them, then Selina.

"I've sent reinforcements, Master Bruce," came Alfred's voice over the comm link. Ra's stared at each of them in turn before sheathing his blades.

"I see," Ra's said evenly, covering himself in his emerald green cloak. "Even a master knows when it is time to retreat. We shall meet again, detective," Ra's said, turning to leave. The four vigilantes attempted to stop him, but several of Ra's loyal assassins blocked their path, forcing them to fight through them to reach their Master. By the time they fought through and incapacitate Ra's assassins, the man was gone.

Bruce stared out in the direction the man had disappeared before donning his cape again. He turned to the others, but said nothing, then moved toward the Batmobile with Damian behind him.

"Alfred, do you have anything on Ra's or Sensei?" Bruce asked. There was a silence from Alfred's end for a few moments.

"I'm afraid I can't come up with a thing, Master Bruce," Alfred replied. Bruce's eyes narrowed, then he turned to the others.

"Ra's, Strange, and Sensei are at the heart of this. Keep your eyes peeled. Batgirl," Bruce said, turning to her "go to Arkham and question Quinn. The Joker is still a grave threat as long as he's lose. We need to know where he is."

"On it," Barbara replied, calling her motorcycle and taking off into the night. Bruce turned to Selina then, who sauntered over to him with a smirk on her face. She touched his face gently and kissed his cheek.

"Hmm. I'll keep my eyes on the East End. But after this is over," she said with a purr, pressing a kiss to his lips. She remained close, smirk widening a little when Bruce managed a small smile "you owe me that dinner." Selina grabbed her whip, cracking it once before using it to pull herself up to the roof tops.

"Ugh," Damian muttered under his breath, arms crossed and shaking his head. Bruce turned and hopped into the Batmobile, gunning the engine and racing off down the street. Bruce typed in a few commands into the Batmobile's computer, tapping into the Batcomptuer from there to try and find any traces or sightings of the League of Assassins. What he got instead, were reports of Mr Freeze and Scarecrow stirring up trouble. He growled a bit to himself, because they seemed the most likely to have escaped from Arkham. The only plus side, was that Arkham was up and running again, so they had somewhere to send them once they apprehended them. A whole day had passed already and it felt like their work had only just begun.

What was worse, was that the Joker was still on the loose. The Joker was a wildcard, and the longer he was out and about, the higher the chances were that he'd capitalize on this chaos in a catastrophic way. Even if he had no involvement in Strange and the League's plot here, there was a good chance that he knew about it and already had something up his sleeve for it.

"Father, allow me to handle Scarecrow while you take on Freeze," Damian said then. Bruce glanced over at Damian and shook his head.

"No. I'll handle Scarecrow. You deal with Freeze. It's safer this way," Bruce replied evenly. Damian went to argue, but before he could get a word out, Bruce interrupted "that's final, Damian. This isn't up for debate." Damian snorted and glared out the window, crossing his arms over his chest. He stopped the Batmobile, and Damian hopped out, summoning his wingcycle from there.

"Take Freeze directly to Arkham, understood?"

"Of course. This won't be a problem," Damian said haughtily, racing off in the direction of Freeze's last sighting. Bruce revved the Batmobile once more and took off down the street.

"Lucius, how is that cure coming?" Bruce asked.

"It's coming," Tim replied. "I'm here helping Lucuis devise a cure. I figured two heads would be better than one," Tim explained before Bruce asked.

"And I'm glad for the help. This drug, this _Delirium_ ; it's very complex. It might just be one of the most complex chemical formulae I've ever seen. This is going to take some time, I'm afraid."

"Understood. Work as fast as you can; the longer we take, the further the situation will deteriorate," Bruce replied.

"What about Arkham and Blackgate?" Tim asked.

"We've recaptured them and they're back in our control. For the moment."

"Right. Well, we'll do our best. Once we have the cure, it should be a simple matter of distributing it. But we can cross that bridge when we get to it," Tim replied. "Red robin out."

 _He heard the Joker's laughing, the maniacal clown's hysterical laughter filling the room. He was tied to a chair as a cold, metal crow bar struck him over, and over, and over. The Joker taunted him, laughed at, beat him…killed him…the boy, dressed in the red, black, green and yellow of Robin struggled at with the barbed wire tying him to the chair. Blood ran down the side of his face, from his nose and mouth. He looked around the room and saw bright red numbers in the darkness…counting down...5…4…3…2…1…_

A bone chilling laugh filled the bunker, causing Jason to bolt up in the bed. Within seconds, he found himself up on his feet with his guns in hand, before he was fully awake. His heart hammered in his chest hard as the laugh continued. Jason looked around the room to see Dick still fast asleep in bed, and the Joker on the screen of his computer.

"Woah, woah, woah, Jaybird. Relax, sssh," Roy said softly, pushing away from the chair. He was at Jason's side, wrapping an arm around the man's shoulders and comforting him. He turned the man away from the computer and back toward the bed, toward Dick who was still fast asleep.

"The Joker-" Jason breathed, closing his eyes and swallowing hard. Truth be told, he still had nightmares and his blood still ran cold in his veins whenever he heard that laugh. But he'd never let anyone see him like this. Nobody except Roy, who had seen him at his worst and had been there to keep him sane, like Dick was now.

"Calm down Jaybird. We're on it. We're not gonna let him stay on the loose for long. Go back to bed with your boyfriend and sleep," Roy said soothingly. Jason scrubbed his face with his hands, then pushed away from Roy and moved toward the computer. He glared at the screen, a seething rage boiling just underneath the surface at the mere sight of the Joker. He was on a surveillance camera in Jezebel Center, wreaking chaos and havoc as usual.

As Jason stared at the Joker, the clown stared directly at the camera, wearing a sick grin. It made Jason's stomach turn and something in him had a bad feeling; that before this was over, the Joker was going to pull something that would drag them all down into hell.

Roy pushed past Jason and turned the feed off, looking over his shoulder at Jason. Once the Joker's face was gone from the screen, only then was Jason able to peel his eyes away from the screen. Roy rested his hands on Jason's shoulders and maneuvered him back to the bed.

"Rest. We've got this," Roy said smoothly. Jason grumbled something under his breath and reluctantly lay back down on the bed. Dick subconsciously snuggled up against the man's warmth again and Jason heaved a sigh, burying his nose in the man's hair, breathing in his scent and finding a calmness within the brewing storm of his mind.

Still, Jason couldn't stop thinking about the Joker; there was no way that sadistic clown was going to let this go to waste. He was planning something and Jason only hoped they were ready for _whatever_ it was.

The Joker laughed like a lunatic as he paced up the row of tied up civilians, all dressed in mocked up versions of Catwoman, Batman, Batgirl, Nightwing, Red Hood, Red Robin, and Robin's outfits. The Clown Prince of Crime brandished a bloody crowbar, stopping before "Batman".

"Ohhh, what's the matter Bats? Cat gotcha tongue?! Well, I suppose these days she does! We'll just have to trim kitty's claws!" The Joker let out a demented giggle as he pulled out a gun and shot "Catwoman" in the head. The other prisoners whimpered and cried in fear. "Aw c'mon! That one was funny! I don't hear any laughter!" The Joker said with a wicked grin, cupping his hand to his ear. The prisoners tried to laugh, faking it as best they could through their fear. The Joker cackled dementedly and stopped before "Nightwing". He placed the crowbar under the man's chin and tilted his head up to look at him.

"Please, please let me go, don't kill me!" the man pleaded. The Joker grinned from ear to ear.

"Oh, I've always hated you most of all! Holding Batise back! We could have had so much fun if you were out of the picture!" The Joker said with another bone chilling laugh. The man whimpered, begging for his life, but the Joker just struck him anyway, and kept striking, over, and over, until the man went silent, his body limp…dead.

"Ah, but I have to thank our dead friend, Professor Hugo Strange for this opportunity!" The Joker said, waving someone over. From out of the shadows, came Hugo Strange, a slight smile on his face and his arms folded behind his back. "Who've thought the boring old doctor knew how to throw such a party?!" The Joker added, laughing again.

"Indeed. 'Arkham City' is quite the…party, isn't it?" Strange said, lips curling into a devilish grin. "And soon, Batman will be all yours," the man added. The Joker giggled, which then turned into a laugh as he pulled out a gun and shot everyone except "Batman".

"Time to send out the invitations! It's gonna be a helluva party!"


	7. Chapter 7

Dick geared up with Jason the next morning, having convinced Alfred that his leg was doing much better. It still ached a bit, which wasn't surprising considering he had a _sword_ shoved through it, but otherwise, he was good to go. Jason was pulling on his jacket and grabbing up his gun while Dick chatted away with Roy as he toyed with his escrima sticks. Roy had offered to man the computer so Nightwing and Red Hood could make an appearance in Downtown Gotham, though truth be told, he was a bit physically drained; between their mission at Blackgate, the fight with Azrael, and then staying up all night to work from the computer, he found himself feeling drained of energy. He could've kept going, sure, but someone needed to work from here and coordinate with Alfred.

"Listen, Roy, don't exhaust yourself, alright?" Jason said smoothly, holstering his dual action pistols. Roy turned to Jason and flashed a grin, giving him a thumbs up. He then reached over and grabbed a coffee mug, taking a sip of the heavenly concoction that was coffee.

"Don't worry about me, Jaybird. I've stayed up longer than twenty-four hours before. Besides, as long as I've got coffee, I'll be good to go," the red head replied, spinning back around in the chair to face the computer. Jason snorted at him.

"Right. Running on coffee and stress. There's something you and Timbo have in common. No wonder you two get along so well," Jason joked, earning a bark of laughter from Roy. Jason turned to Dick and patted his shoulder.

"You sure you're up for this?" he asked. Dick gave a grin and spun his escrima sticks a bit.

"'Course I am. How about you? You know, you tease me about being worried, but-"

"Pfft, I _died_ , remember? Besides, you can handle your own shit. I'm not worried," Jason answered easily. Roy scoffed from the computer, but otherwise said nothing. Jason glared at the man as he grabbed his helmet off of the desk behind him.

"I'm not," he said firmly, putting it on.

"Sure, whatever you say Jaybird," Roy replied, waving him off, turning to flash a grin at him. Jason snorted and flipped him off, and Dick snickered at their interaction. Jason then nodded toward his motorcycle, his own motorcycle.

"Alright, let's get out of here. We've got a city to save,:" Jason said smoothly. Dick grinned at Jason and nodded, typing in some commands into his holocomputer. It took several minutes, by which time Jason was waiting impatiently atop his motorcycle, when finally Dick's Nightcycle showed up in the bunker. Jason glanced at the motorcycle behind him and nodded his approval.

"You like?" Dick asked with a sly smirk, mounting the black and blue motorcycle.

"Very impressive, Dickie. You've got good taste," he said. He turned forward, the revved the bike a bit. "Well, what are we waiting for? The city ain't gonna save itself," Jason said before peeling out of the cave with Dick right behind him.

The two of them raced through the chaotic streets of Old Gotham, throwing the odd bolas or knock-out gas canister here or there to disable some of the Delirium victims or thugs as they passed by.

"Got something for you guys; two people with flamethrowers fighting outside of the old Solomon Wayne Courthouse," Roy said to them.

"Gotcha. Up for a little fun, Dickie-bird?" Jason called back. Dick grinned from ear to ear and gunned the engine, matching Jason's pace and racing beside him.

"Let's do it."

"Now you're talking."

"There's only one Firefly, and that's me!" Firefly shouted as he flew overheard, firing his flamethrower at his enemy. The woman below, garbed in a fireproof outfit and goggles, grabbed her own flamethrower and they matched fire for fire, causing an explosion in the air and sending them both flying backwards. The woman recovered and got back to her feet, scoffing at her opponent.

"I am the true Firefly! The Goddess of Fire! You're just a peasant, fortunate enough to bask in my flames and fury," the woman replied, firing a blast of flames at Firefly. The man flew out of the way and fired how own blast. The woman dived out of the way and shoot flames at Firefly, which engulfed him, but he emerged unscathed thanks to his suit.

"Goddess of Fire? Don't make me laugh! You're just some cheap knock off!" Firefly taunted, reaching into a pouch on his side and producing several small grenades. He threw them at her, and they exploded in a vicious blast of flames. The woman was thrown backward and Firefly swooped in at her with a flaming sword. The woman yelped as she barely avoided the blade, but turned and shot a blast of flames at Firefly. His jet pack as struck and damaged, and he fell to the ground. He rolled across the ground and grunted, looking over at the woman as she approached him with her flamethrower at the ready.

"Hey, you two!" Jason called, twirling his guns in his hands. Dick followed behind him with a smirk, toying with his escrima sticks. "Yeah, you. You're both pretty princesses, but it's time to put the toys down and-"

"Burn!" Firefly shouted, shooting flames at the two of them. Both Jason and Dick ducked his attack, dodging out of the way. The woman, the other 'Firefly', shot her flamethrower directly after Firefly's and almost lit Jason's jacket on fire.

"Hey! I love this jacket!" Jason shouted. The woman turned to Firefly then and snorted.

"Kill this rabble first, then we can kill each other?" she asked haughtily. Firefly laughed and turned his attention back to Nightwing and Red Hood.

"Sounds like a plan," he replied, the two of them firing their flamethrowers in unison at the duo. Dick raced out of the way as Firefly followed him with his flamethrower. Jason was busy with the woman who followed him, walking after him as he tried to escape from the blasting flames.

"Hey sparky, how about you cut it with the flames for a second and talk?" Jason called, trying to play nice. He didn't do that often, but in this case, the girl seemed to be one of Strange's victims. 'Goddess of Fire' indeed.

"No. Just burn," she replied, following after Jason as the man ducked behind a dumpster. Jason heaved a sigh and drew his guns again.

"Ah well. Can't say I didn't try," Jason muttered to himself. The minute the fire stopped, he jumped out from behind the dumpster and showered the woman in a hail of rubber bullets. The woman yelped as she was struck several times over, stumbling backward before falling to the ground. Jason took the opportunity to race forward and get in close and keep her from being able to use her flamethrower.

The woman cursed loudly, still on the ground as she lifted her flamethrower and fired at him. Jason shouted in exclamation, followed by a curse as he hit the deck. She aimed her flamethrower for another attack, but he threw a throwing knife at the barrel, knocking it off target. A jet of flame erupted from the barrel and out into empty air. Jason pushed himself onto his feet with a forward somersault, bringing his foot down across her head for good measure and knocking her out cold. As he got to his feet, he glanced over in Dick's direction and saw him having trouble with Firefly.

"Hold still so I can turn you to ash!" Firefly hissed, throwing a couple of inferno grenades. Dick threw a line to the building nearby and pulled himself out of the way as the grenades exploded in a conflagration. Dick landed on top of the roof, but Firefly continued lobbing inferno grenades as Dick raced across the roof top to avoid them. Some of them exploded shrapnel, making the problem worse, but when he finally ran out, Dick dived down at him, throwing an escrima stick, having successfully predicted he'd use his flamethrower and knocking it off target.

"Sorry Firefly, but you're all burnt out!" Dick said with a laugh, landing on his hands and flipping forward, kicking Firefly in the chest. As the man stumbled back, he cursed and tried to fire his flamethrower, but nothing happened.

"What the hell?!" He cursed looking down at the barrel. He turned and saw Jason behind him with a knife, holding the fuel line in his other hand.

"Aw, don't you just hate it when that happens?" Jason said, grinning under his mask. Firefly growled, attempted to swing a fist, but Jason was faster, punching him in the face and knocking him out cold. Dick padded over to Jason, rubbing his shoulder and rolling it a bit. He smirked and stopped before the man, glancing down at Firefly, then glancing over to the other 'Firefly'.

"Not a bad way to start off the day," Dick joked, earning a chuckle of amusement from Jason. He twirled his guns a bit before holstering them again and heaving a sigh.

"Busting a couple of pyros first thing in the morning is indeed a good way to start the day," Jason replied, crossing his arms over his chest. He gestured down at Firefly and said "so, how about these two? You take her to Arkham and I'll drop this jackass off at Blackgate?"

"Sounds like a plan." Dick replied. Dick slipped past Jason and as he did, Jason gave Dick's ass a swat. Dick yelped and smirked back at Jason.

"Hey, we're on the clock," Dick said to him. Jason gave a shrug.

"So what? Doesn't mean we can't-" Jason began, but he was cut off when a bright green and purple ball bounced in between the two of them. "Shit," Jason cursed, and then the thing exploded. The two vigilantes were thrown around like rag dolls, with Dick crashing into a dumpster and Jason, slamming into a wall. Jason groaned in pain as he attempted to push himself up. But his blood ran cold as a familiar laugh rang in here ears from the smoke of the blast.

"Well lookie what Uncle Jay has caught now! Two little birdies, still alive and kicking!" came the Joker's voice. Jason growled and pulled out a gun, this one loaded with lethal ammunition.

"You son of a-" Jason growled, but the Joker kicked the gun out of his hand.

"Uh uh uh! It's rude to point guns at friends," The Joker said with a giggle. He raised a crowbar and struck at Jason's head, hard. His head slammed against the pavement and he was knocked out cold, but protected by the helmet. The Joker examined his handiwork and giggled a bit. "Wow, quite a hard head you got there! Not even a scratch!"

"Don't touch him!" Dick shouted venomously, escrima sticks at the ready. The Joker turned to Dick and gave him a wicked grin, holding the crowbar where he could see it, while running his fingers over the dried blood stains. Dick eyed the crowbar and flinched at the sight of the dried blood.

"Oh, noticed this, didya?" The Joker asked, raising the crowbar to eye level. "Little trophy I kept around! So much nostalgic value! And brain matter," the Joker added with a demented giggle. Dick growled low, grip tightening on his escrima sticks. "He was meant to be my masterpiece! My greatest work! But then he came back and ruined the whole thing," The Joker added with a growl, glaring back at Jason.

"Shut your mouth, clown!" Dick roared, charging the demented clown. The Joker laughed and matched Dick's escrima strike with his crowbar.

"Oooh, touchy about that one, aren't you-" The Joker paused, leaning forward and grinning at Dick like the devil "Dickie-bird?" Dick flinched noticeable at the use of his civilian name, face contorted in shock. The Joker giggled hysterically and took advantage of Dick's reaction, kicking at his leg, right where his wound had been. Dick cried out in pain as he fell to one knee, then the Joker slammed the crowbar into Dick's jaw with an upward stroke, knocking him unconscious.

The Joker turned toward Jason and folded his hands behind his back, whistling a tune to himself as he neared the anti-hero. The Joker knelt down in front of him and tsked to himself, tapping the crowbar against the red helmet.

"You're so much less fun now. Now that Big Bird over there has gotten to you," The Joker said with a wicked grin. He scowled then as he glanced back at the unconscious Dick Grayson, then turned back Jason. "He has a nasty habit of making all the most fun people just so boring," he added with a giggle. The Joker grunted with effort as he lifted Jason up off of the ground. He giggled again and patted the helmet. "But don't worry, Uncle Jay will fix you right up!"

As the Joker dragged Jason away, he stopped before Dick and threw down a Joker playing card.  
"Here's my card. For the damages," he said, followed by a bark of laughter.

Jason groaned as he began to come back to consciousness. He grunted when he tried to move and found he couldn't. Confused, he looked around to see where he was. The first thing he noticed was that he was bound to a chair; a dental chair to be exact. The next thing he noticed was that his helmet was gone. Jason growled as he tugged on the restraints but to no avail. He heaved an exasperated sigh and looked around the room, hoping to find something familiar to find out where he was.

It did look familiar, but it brought back bad memories. This was Ma Gunn's "School For Boys", where he had been sent after Bruce caught him stealing tires off of the Batmobile. It was also the first time he and Bruce worked together on a case, putting an end to Ma Gunn's 'crime academy' and putting her behind bars.

Jason growled and struggled against his restraints again. He looked toward the table in front of him, half of it obscured by shadows. Suddenly, the lights turned on and Jason winced as the light struck his eyes. When he opened them again, at the other end of the table, as Ma Gunn herself, tied to a chair and a grin plastered across her face. Three skeletons sat as the table with her, one of them wearing a Robin costume, and the other two dressed as civilians, a man and a woman. Suddenly, a round of applause sounded from somewhere in the room, followed by cheering; a recording of sorts. Jason looked around the room for a source, but then the Joker stepped out of the shadows with a crowbar in hand, using it as a microphone.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to another thrilling episode of 'This Is Your Life!'" The Joker called, grinning devilishly at Jason. He stopped between the two skeletons dressed as civilians and rested his arms on each of their shoulders. "Today we have the guest of honor, one Jason Todd!" The Joker approached Jason, sick grin still plastered across his face, and held the crowbar in front of his face. "Care to make a comment to the crowd?"

"Go to hell," Jason spat, and the Joker laughed hysterically.

"You first, pumpkin! Bwhahahahaaa!" The Joker walked down the length of the table and stopped beside the civilian skeletons again. "First, a word from mummy and daddy!" Jason's eyes widened at the comment. Did he…dig up his parents?!

"You…sick son of a-" Jason hollered, struggling harder against the wire that bound him. The Joker giggled again.

"Oh, so rude! Didn't mommy dearest teach you any manners?" The Joker asked, leaning against the skeleton in the dress. "What about you, daddy? Any words of wisdom for your boy?" He said to the other skeleton, holding the crowbar in front of him. "Oh, silent treatment eh? Sure you don't have a _bone_ to pick?!" The Joker cackled hysterically.


	8. Chapter 8

Dick groaned, his head pounding, as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He was sitting in the middle of the street, a nearby building on fire from the fight between the two Fireflys. He saw both of them still unconscious nearby, but couldn't find -

"Jason!" Dick breathed, speaking in a hushed tone as he jumped up to his feet. His memory came back quickly, of The Joker showing up here and knocking both him and Jason out. But Jason was nowhere to be seen, which could mean only one thing…

"Batman? Batgirl? Anyone, come in!" Dick called frantically. There was static on his comm link for a few moments before it began to clear up. Roy cut through it first.

"Nightwing, what's wrong?" Roy asked. Dick breathed a sigh of relief, but it was only momentary before he started pacing.

"It's the Joker! He took Jason!" Dick practically shouted into the comm link.

"What?!" Roy and Barbara shouted in unison.

"Do you know where he's gone? Or where he's going?" Bruce asked. Dick shook his head, looking around for any clues.

"No, I-" he paused when his eye fell upon a playing card sitting on the ground. He knelt down and picked the card up, turning it over to see, of course, the Joker icon.

"Nightwing?" Bruce asked, but Dick ignored him. He examined the card and noticed the edge was partially peeled. He peeled it back further and found a small black device inside, between the front and back of the card. He took it out and plugged it into the computer mounted in his gauntlet. He brought up a holographic interface and triggered the device. A map of Gotham showed up and a set of coordinates.

"Ma Gunn's School for Boys," Dick said softly, eyeing the location. He remembered that case from before Jason was adopted by Bruce. He hadn't been a part of the investigation, but he'd read about Faye Gunn's 'criminal academy, masquerading as an orphanage, in the Gotham Gazette. "I'm going after him," Dick said with finality, a tone that said that his decision was not up for debate.

"No, Nightwing, listen-" Bruce said, trying to dissuade him from going alone.

"I'm not waiting! We already lost Jason to him once," Dick growled angrily, racing toward his Nightcycle "I won't lose him again," Dick said firmly, turning off his communicator and racing through the streets toward Ma Gunn's School for Boys.

Were it anyone else, other than the Joker, Dick would have been less worried; Jason was strong, intelligent, a brilliant strategist and tactician, and a master in both armed and unarmed combat. Like him, he'd been trained by Batman in escapology so he wouldn't need to worry about Jason. Jason would be okay. But this _was_ the Joker; the man who'd killed Jason once before, and took him away from the family, from _him_. A psychotic serial killer, completely unpredictable, and one of the most dangerous villains, if not _the_ most dangerous, on the planet. Though it was true that they put themselves in danger every time they donned their uniforms and gear, every time they hit the streets to put down the criminals, the Joker represented the _living incarnation_ of that danger.

Dick was _determined_ to save Jason and he was certainly not going to wait for backup. He couldn't lose Jason, not again. He'd been through that pain, that heartache, once before and now…now he was in love with him.

"Hold on Jaybird, I'm on my way," Dick said to himself, revving the bike once more before racing even faster toward the orphanage.

* * *

"Nightwing! Dick!" Bruce shouted into the comm link after hearing the connection from Dick's end go dead. He growled to himself and raced out of Blackgate Penitentiary, having just returned Victor Zsasz to his cell there. The news that the Joker had taken Jason had struck him hard, but from Dick's voice over the comm link, it hit Dick even harder, and for good reason. He was currently keeping his calm as best he could, despite the fact that Dick had cut his link and had gone after the Joker _alone_. The situation would deteriorate fast, as it always did whenever the Joker was involved.

The only question Bruce had at the moment was _what is he up to?_ That, and one other question; why now? But the questions could wait; Jason and Dick were in trouble-his sons were in trouble. He jumped into the Batmobile with Damian beside him, and raced away from Blackgate and toward the last place he knew Dick and Jason had been headed. Two 'Fireflys' had been dueling near the old Solomon Wayne Courthouse, and Dick and Jason had made that their first destination.

"Alfred, do you have a location on either Jason or Dick?" Bruce asked over the Batmobile's communicator.

"Master Richard has activated the tracking device in his…what was it he called it…? Ah, his 'Nightcycle', Master Bruce," Alfred replied. Bruce was silent while he waited form Alfred's report on Dick's location.

"He's headed to…hmm, well that is interesting," Alfred said evenly. Bruce's eyes narrowed a bit as he gunned the engine.

"Where?" Bruce repeated.

"It appears he is headed to 'Ma Gunn's School for Boys', sir," Alfred replied. Bruce scowled at the mention of the place, recalling the memories from the night he caught Jason stealing the tires off of the Batmobile.

 _Bruce, as Batman, was there in Crime Alley, on the anniversary of his parents' death. It was a means of remembering them, honoring them, mourning them, and reminding himself of why he fought, why he became Batman. It had become tradition for him to watch over the area on the anniversary of his parents' deaths. After his patrol of the area was complete, he returned to the Batmobile to find the tires missing. Eyes narrowing dangerously, he approached the car to find the thief, and there he found a young boy in a red hooded sweatshirt, looking no older than thirteen or fourteen, with a tire iron in hand, working on the final tire._

 _"Ahem." Bruce cleared his throat to get the boy's attention. The raven-haired teen turned, surprised. "You realize that that is the Batmobile, don't you?" he asked with a scowl on his face. The teen seemed afraid at first, but then he seemed to grow bold. Defiant._

 _"Well duh. You realize you parked this thing in Crime Alley, right?" The next thing he knew, the boy was swinging the tire iron at him. He caught it handily, then lifted the boy up off of the ground by the collar of his shirt. "If you're gonna beat up a kid, go join the G.C.P.D first, like every other bully in this city," the boy snapped, spitting on the ground at his feet, while glaring at him defiantly._

 _To say the least, Bruce was impressed by the boy's courage. Few people had the guts to be so defiant and brave in the face of The Batman, and here was this kid, a street kid no older than fourteen, staring him down defiantly._

 _"I'm only going to ask you this once, so you'd best think carefully before you answer," Bruce said in a serious tone._

 _"What?" Jason snapped._

 _"Are you hungry?"_

 _Not long after, he Bruce took him to Ma Gunn's School for Boys. It wasn't long after that he'd learned the place was little more than a training facility for turning kids into criminals. Jason helped him take Ma Gunn down that night, ad within a few days, Jason Todd became the adopted son of Bruce Wayne._

The Joker had already taken Jason, his son, away from him once. He wasn't going to let it happen again.

* * *

Dick arrived at the old orphanage, abandoned and dilapidated from years of neglect. The building hadn't seen any use since Ma Gunn's operation had been shut down. It was clear now though, however, that someone was using it; there were lights on inside the building. Dick cycled through the different typed of vision in his mask and even ran some scans on the door to make sure it wasn't trapped. When he was sure it was safe, he pushed it open and made his way inside. The lights were faint from the outside, coming from another room entirely.

The main hall was still dark, so Dick crept quietly toward the source of the light. It led him into the kitchen where he met a grisly sight; a table with Ma Gunn clearly infected with Joker Toxin, if the grin was anything to judge by, a couple of skeletons and a third dressed in a mock Robin costume, were seated around the table. At the head of it, tied to a dentistry chair, sat an unconscious Jason, his face a a bit bloody; the Joker had been beating him. Seeing the sight firsthand, made Dick's blood boil.

"Nnngh…Dickie?" Jason whispered, coming to, lifting his head to get a look at Nightwing. Dick moved to Jason's side in an instant and attempted to untie him.

"I'm here Little Wing. We'll get you out of here," Dick whispered.

"No. Run. Trap," Jason murmured.

"Well, well, well, lookie what we have here!" The Joker's voice rang out, hands clapping together as he stepped out of the shadows, grinning devilishly. Dick stopped what he was doing and drew his escrima sticks, glaring angrily at the Joker.

"Get the hell away," Dick growled, taking up a fighting stance. The Joker sighed and rolled his eyes, folding his hands behind his back and pacing a little.

"Oh Bird Boy, you're so much less fun now, all grown up and into your big boy pants," The Joker said, turning to grin at Dick. "But that's nothing a little dose of fun can't fix!"

"Nothing you do is ever fun, Joker," Dick spat. The Joker giggle hysterically.

"Oh, I've always hated you most of all! No matter how hard I try, I just can't get under your skin!" The Joker said, then turned his eyes onto Jason. His grin widened even further. "Until now," the Joker said in a menacing tone. Dick gasped and turned to Jason as the Joker pulled out some kind of switch and pressed it. Jason growled in pain as he was briefly electrocuted, twitching in the chair, pain wracking his body.

"Stop it!" Dick growled, moving toward the chair.

"Ah ah ah! I wouldn't do that if I were you!" the Joker called, stopping Dick in his tracks. He held up the device and giggle deviously. "All I have to do it up the wattage and press a button and Hoodie goes byebye!" The Joker said, giggling hysterically. Dick growled angrily, tightening his grip on his escrima sticks.

"Let. Him. Go. Now," Dick ordered, gritting his teeth. The Joker laughed as he pressed the button again and Jason growled in pain, clenching his fists and fighting through it.

"Stop it!" Dick shouted. The Joker turned to him and giggled.

"Aw, what's the matter bird boy? Not having fun? Well I am!" The Joker said, pressing the button again. Dick felt his entire body tense, his blood beginning to boil as he heard Jason's pained cry from behind him.

"Enough!" Dick shouted, lunging forward and bringing an escrima stick down on the Joker's head. The Clown was struck hard and fell to the ground, still giggling like a maniac.

"Oh, so you do have a fun side after all!" The Joker said, grinning at him. "D'you want me to tell ya how it happened? How I beat your litle boyfriend to a bloody pulp?" the Joker taunted. Dick flinched at the word 'boyfriend' and the Joker scoffed at his reaction. "Oh don't look so surprised! I know everything! All your names, all your hobbies, I even know what shampoo you use! Your hair smells nice by the way," the Joker said, letting loose another demented giggle.

"You…" Dick breathed, seething with anger. He glanced over toward the table and found a bloody crowbar sitting there. He glanced back at the Joker who grinned even wider.

"Oh? You wanna do it, dontcha bird boy? Well go ahead, it's right there," the Joker said in a low tone. Dick slammed his eyes shut, then took a deep breath.

"No, I-" another pained scream from Jason as the Joker pressed the button again.

"It's the only way you're gonna save Jason over there! I won't stop, I'll never stop! He's too much fun, just like daddy Bats!" The Joker cackled.

"STOP!" Dick roared, grabbing the crowbar off the table and slamming the Joker's face with it. The Joker grunted as his head hit the floor, spitting out the blood in his mouth.

"Aw c'mon now! Is that all ya got? I hit Jason _way_ harder than _that_ ," the Joker taunted. Dick raised the crowbar to strike him again, but then Jason spoke behind him.

"Stop," he heard Jason gasp out. Dick's eyes widened and he turned to Jason. "Don't…it's not you. This isn't you. It's what he wants," Jason ground out. Dick turned back to the Joker who grinned at him sadistically.

"Go ahead, do it. Hit you're Uncle Jay. You know I'll never stop," he said with a giggle. Dick glared at him, gritted his teeth, raising the crowbar for another strike until Bruce burst through the door moments later, with Damian in tow. The Joker turned his head as best he could and giggled again.

"Oh goodie, you're just in time for the show!"

"Dick," Bruce said softly, eyeing Dick with a concerned look. Dick looked up at Bruce as a tear slid down his face.

"He…Jason…" Dick said softly.

"You're not a killer, Dick. You're _better_ than him. You've never let him get to you before. Don't let him start now," Bruce said softly. Dick looked down at the Joker, then to Bruce, and lastly, Jason…Dick heaved a sigh and threw the crowbar down.

"No. I won't do it," he said softly. The Joker sighed and rolled his eyes.

"So disappointing," he said, reaching for the trigger again, but Dick turned and quickly stopped on it.

"I said enough," Dick growled, before moving across the room to free Jason. While Dick worked on the wires, Bruce hauled the Joker to his feet. The Joker giggled and suddenly, elbowed Batman in the stomach, then pulled out a gun.

"Look out!" Damian called, but the clown pulled the trigger and Dick was shot in the head.

"NO!" Jason roared, adrenaline racing through his veins as he watched Dick fall. He tore himself free and moved on the Joker who was moving to escape.

"I'd love to stay and play, but I've got a play date with someone else! Ta ta!" he called, throwing down a smoke bomb. The three of them coughed, but as the smoke cleared, panic set in as all eyes fell to Dick.

"No, no, no," Jason breathed as he, Bruce and Damian, all rushed to his side. Bruce dared to reach out and touch the wound. When he pulled his hand away, he looked down at his hand.

"It's paint. Red paint," Bruce said softly, and Jason breathed a sigh of relief.

"A paintball then," Damian said with a derisive snort.

"He's out cold, but alive," Bruce added. Jason growled and lifted Dick into his arms, shoving past Bruce. He stopped at the door and glared back at him.

"Still so sure he doesn't deserve a bullet?" Jason snapped before storming out of the building. Bruce glared after him, but offered no words in reply. He glanced around at the room before them, knowing the Joker had escaped. One thing was certain; they could expect more of the same, if they didn't catch him soon.


	9. Chapter 9

Jason arrived back at the bunker, having sent a command to his own motorcycle to return to the bunker. He gingerly picked Dick up from the biker and carried him into the bathroom. Roy swiveled in his chair when they entered the cave, then pushed out of the chair and jogged to the bathroom.

"Jaybird? Is Dick okay?" Roy asked, watching as Jason began cleaning the back of Dick's head with a warm, wet washcloth. Jason had taken his helmet off and tossed it aside. It sat on the floor, leaning against the wall. He glanced up at Roy, ignoring his own injuries and nodded.

"He'll be okay. Just a paintball to the back of the head," Jason answered, glancing back down at Dick. Satisfied once the paint was out of his hair, he carried the man back out of the bathroom and laid him down on the bed to rest. Jason heaved a sigh, scrubbing his face with his hands. He turned to Roy and frowned.

"How long have you been at it now?" he asked. Roy gave a shrug.

"I dunno. 'Bout thirty hours?" he said with a cheeky grin. Jason managed a small smile and patted Roy's shoulder.

"Get some rest, I'll take it from here," Jason said evenly. Roy arched an eyebrow at Jason; he was being uncommonly… _nice_. It's not that he wasn't nice per se, but it was usually hidden behind jokes and sarcasm.

"Jay, are you alright?" Roy asked. Jason sighed and scrubbed his face with his hands.

"The Joker-" Jason began, a scowl spreading across his face. Roy nodded in understanding and held up his hand.

"No need to explain, I get it," he said, yawning and covering his mouth with a closed fist. "But I could use the rest. Thanks Jaybird." Roy said, moving toward the living area and crashing on the couch. Jason moved across the bunker and toward the computer, sitting at the seat and began working at the computer.

"It's The Red Hood. Arsenal's resting," Jason explained over the comm link.

"You should too," came Bruce's voice.

"No, I'm good. Besides, can't leave all the work to Alfred," Jason said with a smirk.

"Thank you Master Jason but-"

"I can help," came Tim's voice, followed by a yawn. "Lucius and I have been working tirelessly on a cure, and we think we finally have one." A few sighs of relief came from everyone. Jason pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned, a migraine building behind his eyes.

"Good. Let's get that cure out there and shut The League and Strange down," Jason said sourly.

"Not yet. We need to find Strange and the League first. As long as they're at large, they can continue to infect people," Bruce replied. Jason wanted to argue, but he knew the man was right. Instead he growled in frustration.

"Yeah, whatever."

"Jason, don't let the Joker get under your skin," Bruce said again. Jason snorted.

"Little late for that," he snapped back. Jason sighed again. "Nevermind. Forget it," he said. He typed away on his computer and brought up some feeds. "I've got the Sensei over in the East End. No sign of Ra's al Ghul," Jason reported.

"Perhaps I can be of help with that," came Strange's voice over the comm link.

"Strange. How the fuck did you get on this frequency?" Jason asked in a snarl. Strange chuckled in amusement.

"Wouldn't you like to know. But let's not get away from the matter at hand. The point is, I know where Ra's al Ghul is, and I'd be happy to share his location with you," Strange said. The line was silent for a time and nobody was sure what to say. Well, Jason had a few things to say, but he bit his tongue for the moment. Judging by the silence, he began to wonder if Bruce was actually considering it. He had his answer moments later and he didn't like it.

"I'm listening," came Bruce's voice. Jason spluttered at the answer that Bruce gave; he couldn't believe it! Was Bruce _actually_ trusting this creep?!

"What?! You don't actually believe this guy, do you?!" Jason shouted in disbelief. He cursed mentally and looked over at Roy to find him still fast asleep. He turned back to the computer, glaring daggers at it. No, Bruce was being an idiot here, and he wanted to say as much, but Damian cut in before he had the chance.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Todd, father. Trusting Strange is foolish," Damian added in. Bruce didn't answer either of them, and instead opted to ignore their complaints.

"Where is Ra's al Ghul?" he asked. Both Jason and Damian growled in annoyance at being ignored.

"Ra's al Ghul is located in a rather fancy hotel in the East End," Strange replied. Bruce snorted; that sounded like Ra's; surrounding himself in luxury. He was also keenly aware that this could be a trap. He was about to ask for more, but Strange left the line.

"You realize that this is probably a fucking trap, right?" Jason asked with a derisive snort, flopping down into the chair and propping his feet up on the console. Bruce didn't answer him, which prompted a scowl from Jason. _Typical_.

"I'm going after Ra's al Ghul. If there's even a chance that this information is legitamate, we can take him off the field and out of play," Bruce said.

"Great, then I'll go after this 'Sensei'," Jason said, moving away from the computer.

"Absolutely not," Bruce snapped, his tone stern. Jason paused and turned back toward the computer, arching an eyebrow.

"What? Why not? We'd be getting two birds with one stone and be that much closer to putting an end to this bullshit" Jason asked, his tone holding more annoyance.

"Because Sensei is even older than Ra's al Ghul. Possibly deadlier. I've only fought him once before, and he defeated me easily," Bruce said darkly. Jason stared at the screen wide-eyed. Someone capable of defeating Bruce, _easily_?

"He's just an old man. How tough could he be?" Jason asked with a snort.

"Jason…don't. He _will_ kill you. He may be old, but he's deadly. I have reason to suspect he's Ra's' father," Bruce added. The link went silent for several moments as everyone processed the revelation. "He's old and tires easily due to his advanced age, but trust me when I say he wouldn't need long to beat any one of us," Bruce added. Jason was silent for a time, then smirked a little and flopped down into the chair, propping his feet up on the desk again.

"Right. Well, try not to embarrass yourself, old man," Jason joked.

"Thanks, Jason," Bruce said flatly. Jason snickered in response. He put his feet back down on the floor and typed away on the computer's console.

"Hey Timbo, can you bring that cure down to the bunker? We should have that on hand the minute this shitstorm breaks," Jason said.

"I'm already on my way. We should have enough cure for all of the Delirium victims," Tim replied.

"Nice work, Timbo," Jason replied.

"Yeah well, that's what I do," Tim replied with a slight laugh.

* * *

Bruce, with the help of Alfred and Jason, cased the hotel out. It was the only place the chaos hadn't touched and was surrounded by assassins. If Ra's was anywhere, it'd definitely be here. And yet, jhe couldn't help but feel that this was a trap. Regardless, this needed to end, fast. Bruce snuck his way past Ra's' assassins, using stealth take downs to silently put down those he couldn't sneak past, and made his way inside the building. When he got inside, however, there were corpses everywhere; both assassins and hotel staff alike. Bruce's eyes narrowed as he followed the trail of corpses up two floors, hearing the sounds of fighting in the distance.

Bruce came to a suite with two dead assassins on either side of the door. Eyes narrowing once more, he stepped past them and inside the room. He heard a pained groan from another room and drew a batarang from his utility belt, moving toward the source of the noise. Standing in the middle of the room, over the corpse of a dead assassin, stood Sensei. The old man turned around and glared at him.

"Well, it would seem we're tracking the same quarry," Sensei said in a cold, even tone, turning to Bruce and folding his arms behind his back.

"Ra's al Ghul," Bruce replied. Sensei snorted.

"A child pretending to be more," Sensei replied flatly. "He holds the League of Assassins back, pursuing petty vendettas and agendas. In my hands, I would raise them higher," Sensei said, raising his arms up into the air for dramatic effect "and perfect the art of assassination! I would create the greatest assassins that history has ever known!"

"And so you'd kill your own son?" Bruce asked, testing his theory. Sensei snorted at the mention of him.

"My son is a disappointment. As are you," he said, drawing his blade and taking a fighting stance. "When last we met, you bested me by outlasting me. This time, you will die. I need only minutes to end you," Sensei said smugly. Bruce's eyes narrowed, but he made the first move, throwing a batarang. Sensei blocked it with his sword, then pounced at Bruce. Bruce blocked a sword, but was kicked in the stomach. He stumbled back and blocked another sword strike, then pushed the attack, landing a blow on the old man's shoulder, followed by his hand, knocking his sword free. Sensei retaliated with an open palmed strike to Bruce's chest. Bruce stumbled backward, then threw a series of punches; Sensei blocked every one of them.

"I will not fall this time, Batman," Sensei said with a smug grin, spinning to avoid a punch, then elbowing Bruce in the face. Bruce stumbled and Sensei grabbed his arm, pulling him forward and delivering a punch to his face. Stumbling again, Sensei pushed the attack, unleashing a furious attack, landing a series of powerful blows, holding nothing back, the fury of centuries of discipline and training crashing down on Bruce.

"I was master the martial arts before my arrogant child was even a blink!" Sensei taunted, continuing his relentless assault. Bruce blocked as many strikes as he could, but could find no room to counter attack. Sensei ducked a swing from Bruce, then delivered a powerful double punch to Bruce's chest, sending him crashing backwards, down onto the floor. Breathing heavily, Sensei retrieved his sword and held it to Bruce's neck. Blood dripped from the man's nose and mouth, and his ribs ached, having taken a brutal beating from Sensei. He glared at at the man.

"You should have joined us; my son was right about you. You have much potential. Pity," he said with a smug grin. Sensei raised his blade to strike, but then spun around at the last minute and matched blades with Ra's.

"And you should have stayed in Nanda Parbat like a good minion," Ra's said to him with a smug grin. Sensei snarled at him, batting Ra's blade aside. He glanced back at Bruce who kicked at him in that moment. Sensei avoided it, then ducked a sword stroke from Ra's. All attention turned toward the window, as Batgirl crashed through it. Sensei took advantage of the distraction and retreated, calling his assassins to cover his retreat.

"Come back and face your death, coward," Ra's called, fighting through Sensei's assassins.

"I believe you called it a 'tactical retreat'" Sensei called back with a smug grin. Within minutes, he was gone. Bruce and Barbara then turned their attention on Ra's, but he too, was making an escape, covered by assassins. The duo fought through the assassins and followed Ra's path, but he too, was gone.

"Well, that didn't go as planned," Barbara said with a frown, huffing in annoyance. She turned to Bruce and shrugged. "Jason sent me here. Figured I could help. Sorry," she said. Bruce glanced over at her and shook his head.

"We'll catch them next time. I'm going to see if I can't track them down again. Will you be okay here on your own?" Bruce asked. Barbara gave a nod.

"Sure, I'll be fine," she replied. Bruce gave a nod in reply and retreated from the building. Meanwhile, Barbara made her way through the hotel, disabling any conscious assassins she came across and tying them up. Even though Ra's and Sensei had escaped, this was still a victory; a good chunk of both their forces were now off of the playing field.

"Jason, let my father know about this, and have him send some men down to collect these guys. Place is clear," Barbara said.

"Gotcha. Nice work, Batgirl," Jason said smoothly. Barbara giggled a bit.

"Well of course. You sure you're okay just working from a computer?" she asked, making her way down the hall.

"Someone has two. Plus, we're down three people; Tim's working on the cure, and Dick and Roy are both out of it," he replied. Barbara heard a sigh from his end, then "but yeah, I'd rather be out there, knocking heads. You and Timmy were always better at the computer crap."

"Aw, well thanks," she replied with a laugh. As she rounded the corner, she gasped; the Joker stood there and she felt something press against her stomach. Her mind flashed back to that fateful night when the Joker shot her…

"Fancy meeting you here," the Joker said, wearing a demented grin. Frozen in fear, Barbara hesitated, but before she could react, she screamed in pain as the Joker pulled the trigger, tasing her. She collapsed to the floor, unconscious from the jolt of electricity. "I thought about putting on an encore performance, but the same old act, all over again? Boring!" The Joker said with a cackle, lifting Barbara up and throwing her over his shoulder.

"Barbara?! Babara!" Jason shouted over the comm link, having heard the demented laugh. The Joker laughed again wen he heard Jason's voice.

"I'm afraid Batgirl isn't available at the moment! Please leave a message at the sound of the laugh!" The Joker said, loud enough for Jason to hear, letting loose a demented laugh.

"I'll kill you! Do you hear me, Clown?! I'll fucking kill-" Jason threatened, cut off when the Joker destroyed the communication device.

"Now, now, you've already had your turn!"


	10. Chapter 10

"Fuck!" Jason swore loudly, grabbing up the nearest object, in this case, his helmet, and winging it across the room. The helmet slammed across the concrete wall with a loud _smack_ , and Roy jumped up, the sound startling him awake. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and the first thing he saw, was Jason pacing back and forth, clawing at his hair.

"Jason-" Bruce began over the link. Jason spun toward the computer, slamming his hands down on the console.

"No, fuck you Bruce! I'm _not_ having this conversation! I'm going to find the Joker, and I will kill him. Your way doesn't work with the Joker," Jason snapped angrily, shutting the link down. Jason's anger seethed as he stormed across the bunker, grabbing up his gear.

"Jason, what's going on? What's wrong?" Roy asked, jogging over toward Jason. He placed a hand on the man's shoulder and flinched when Jason spun around, shooting him a seething glare. Jason's expression softened and he took a breath, relaxing a bit. He took a few deep breaths, but under the surface, his anger was reaching peak levels. Anger, and _anxiety_. Barbara had been _paralyzed_ by that fucking clown before. She barely survived the attack! And now, the Joker had her _again_.

Jason was pulling on his body armor when he heard Dick groaning from the bed. He glanced over in the man's direction and moved over to the bed, kneeling down beside him. Dick rubbed his head, squinting as the light hit his eyes. He scrubbed his hand, noting that his mask was missing. When he opened his eyes, he saw Jason kneeling beside him.

"Jason," Dick breathed. Before anyone could get a word out, Dick lurched forward and hugged Jason, then kissed him. Jason stumbled back a bit, taken aback by the sudden motion. But after the initial shock subsided, he relaxed, wrapping his arms around Dick and kissing him back.

Roy smirked at the sight, but then turned and moved over toward the computer, seating himself in the chair and re-opening the communication link.

"Hey, Arsenal again," Roy began.

"Jason…I'm sorry," Dick said softly, pulling apart from the other man. Jason chuckled in amusement.

"Are you kidding? Watching you beat the Joker was _really hot_ ," Jason joked, and Dick chuckled in amusement, stealing another kiss.

"What did I miss?" Dick asked. Jason frowned at the question and gently pushed Dick back onto the bed. Dick arched a black brow and gave Jason a quizzical look. He sat up again and looked himself over, noting he was still in costume. He touched the back of his head next; he was sure the joker had shot him.

"Paint ball," Jason said smoothly, answering Dick's unasked question. Dick gave a nod in reply.

"Jason, what've I missed?" Dick asked. Jason's expression darkened, but he chose not to answer. Instead, he moved back over toward the equipment locker and continued gearing up, pulling on his black leather jacket and holster, grabbing his black and red dual action Jericho 941's and holstering them. Dick was concerned now, both by Jason's expression and his silence. He pushed himself up off of the bed, looked around for his mask and put it back on.

"Jason, what aren't you telling me?" Dick asked, moving toward Jason. But still the man refused to answer. For Jason's part, he didn't want Dick to know. The less he knew, the better, because he was planning to end this, _permanently_. The Joker was going to die this time.

He was sure Dick would be furious with him, and maybe he'd break up with him, but Jason decided in that moment, he'd rather Dick hate him and be safe, than love him and be dead. He'd rather kill the Joker than let him continue to torment people. He'd rather kill the Joker, than to let him continue tormenting _his family_. Yeah, he was the black sheep, the Robin nobody trusted, and the one who didn't see eye-to-eye with the others. He may have complained about them, attacked them, professed to hate them, but they were the closet thing to family he _ever had_. Well, aside from Roy and Kori, of course. Despite everything, despite the fact that he was distrusted, despite the fact that they were less than welcoming of him at times, the one thing they didn't know about their brother, Jason Todd, was that he would always have their backs, even if they didn't realize it.

"You're going to kill the Joker, aren't you?" Dick asked softly. Jason froze for a moment, but didn't turn to look at him. He didn't want to see the look on Dick's face. He heaved a sigh and finished grabbing up a few more pieces of gear for his utility belt, then moved across the bunker, toward where he'd thrown his helmet and picked it up; the thing was tough and took the beating without so much as a scratch. Jason stared down at the helmet, into the blank eyes of the red mask with a solemn expression. The he turned to Dick and frowned.

"He took Barbara, Dick. He took her, and I'm going to get her back," Jason said firmly. Dick flinched noticeably at the news, eyes widening in shock and fear. As Jason moved toward the vehicles, putting on his helmet, Dick jogged after him, grabbing up his escrima sticks on the way.

"Wait, Jason. I'm coming with you," Dick said. Jason turned and thought about arguing with him, but he already knew there'd be no point; they had both been Robins, so ignoring danger and doing what you were told not to anyway, was part of who they were. But he had to ask anyway. So Jason sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"I suppose asking you to stay here and take some time to recover a bit would be pointless?" he asked. Dick smirked a little, crossing his arms.

"Yup," he replied. Jason chuckled a bit and nodded toward the motorcycles.

"Well, alright then. Let's get going."

* * *

The two vigilantes, Nightwing and Red Hood, had found it easier to navigate the city via the rooftops. The streets had become almost impossible to navigate with debris and ruined cars everywhere. Even despite all of the convicts and escaped Arkham patients they'd rounded up thus far, there were still plenty of them all over the streets, wreaking havoc, and the majority of them hopped up on Strange's Delirium. The two of them wanted to stop and help as many people as they could, but they had a difficult decision to make; they could either stop and help, or save Barbara. Their options were limited, but fortunately, Dick had come up with a compromise, a way to do both, to an extent. He'd borrowed Roy's bow, as well as some trick arrows; he'd trained with various ranged weapons as Robin, including bows. He wasn't as good as shot as Roy or Oliver, but he was good enough. As they crossed the roof tops, Dick would fire a polyurethane or knock out gas arrow at any sign of trouble. He had about a dozen of them, so as they tracked Barbara's tracking device, he'd fire them on any Delirium victims or convicts they passed.

However, both he and Jason were definitely concerned by the fact that her tracking device was still active. It meant that the Joker wanted them to find her; they feared the worst, but neither of them voiced their concerns. They couldn't. They wouldn't.

"Bruce, where are you? We're closing in on her signal," Dick said over the link. He glanced over at Jason, who gave a derisive snort and nothing more. He heard a grunt from Bruce, followed by the sounds of combat.

"I'm dealing with League Assassins. They're-" Bruce paused, as another series of impacts sounded over the comm link "-actively hindering me. Holding me back. I'll meet you as soon as I can."

Dick and Jason exchanged a glace before each firing lines to a building across the way, swinging through the air. The two of them landed near an abandoned warehouse where the tracker said that Barbara was. Again, the two of them exchanged a look, but not a word between them. Neither one of them had to, to know what the other was thinking; they were both afraid she was dead…or worse. But Dick could see it in Jason's eyes; this was affecting him far worse than it was him. So he pushed the door open and entered first. Jason followed behind him and they began looking around the warehouse for any sign of the Joker, his gang, or Barbara.

"Nightwing, you got X-Ray vision in that mask of yours, right?" Jason asked quietly, having heard something moving inside the warehouse. Dick glanced over at him and switched to X-Ray.

"Yeah. You got Infrared?"

"Already ahead of you," Jason replied. The two of them moved through the warehouse, but found nothing aside from old, rusty metal shelves and broken crates. Dick found something though; a trap door in the southeastern corner of the building.

"Hood, over here," Dick called, waving Jason over. Jason followed him and together, they found the trap door. It was hidden beneath a rather heavy crate, but together, the managed to move it. They exchanged another glance before pulling the door open, revealing a staircase down into a sub-level. Drawing their weapons, they carefully descended the staircase; they could hear crying from deeper inside. They followed the concrete corridor, dimly lit by old ceiling lights. Some of them flickered, others were no longer functional. There were a few crates here or there, a tool box occasionally, and even a couple of skeletons.

"This place is eerie. What is it?" Dick asked in a hushed tone.

"Secret passage most likely. The Older Gotham gangs used to have these in a number of their safe houses if they needed to make a quick getaway from the cops," Jason answered. Dick glanced back at him over his shoulder. Jason gave a shrug. "Used to be a drug lord, remember? Well, that and because I like to be informed, you know? I might be reckless, but I'm not stupid." Dick smirked a little at the reply, but offered nothing else. As he and Dick rounded another corner, Jason picked something up on the infrared.

"Hey, I got something," Jason said, the crying growing louder. He moved past Dick, taking point and quietly gesturing for the man to follow. He held both his guns at the ready, then kicked down the door to the next room. He and Dick rushed inside. The room was dark, save for a projector, showing something on the wall. Jason took off his mask and glared at the video on the wall; it played Barbara's attack by the Joker on repeat and in the middle of the room, Barbara was tied to a chair, her cowl discarded on the floor and her eyes taped open, forced to watch it over, and over. Worse yet, pictures from when she was in the hospital, hooked up to machines, were plastered all over the walls with the words "HA HA HA" spray painted in red all over them.

"Ah shit, Babs!" Dick called, putting away his escrima sticks and rushing to Barbara's side. He quickly freed her, removing the tape holding her eyes open, and collected her into his arms. She cried while he held her, but Jason didn't budge. The grip on his pistols tightened as he glared at the video, at the collage on the walls, his blood boiling in his veins. A quiet fury built up inside him as he glared at his surroundings.

"Jason!" Dick shouted, pulling Jason out of his thoughts. Jason glanced down at Dick who'd picked Barbara up and placed her cowl back on. "We have to get her out of here," Dick said, after finally having gotten Jason's attention. Jason didn't say a word, merely putting his helmet back on and nodding in reply. The two of them went back topside and Bruce arrived moment later in the Batmobile. He hopped out and moved toward the two of them.

"Is she-"

"She's alright. We should take her to the manor," Dick said firmly. Bruce said nothing, but gave a nod, gesturing toward the Batmobile.

"Take her home," Bruce said firmly. Dick nodded and hopped into the Batmobile; he'd driven it a few times so he was familiar with its systems. He gunned the engine and took off, heading back for the manor. Bruce turned back Jason, but before a word could be exchanged between the two of them, Jason's phone rang. He sighed and fished it out of his jacket pocket. He flipped it on and a live feed appeared on his phone.

"Joker," Jason snarled, glaring at the clown's demented face.

"Hello internet! I've got a special treat for you today!" The Joker said with a demented giggle. He turned the camera onto Red Robin, who was bound and beaten, tied to a chair in the middle of some dark room. "Today we have a special guest on our lovely little game show "Kill That Bird!"" The Joker practically singsonged. The camera shook again and it now faced him again. "On tonight's episode, I thought I'd ask the audience! Should bird boy live to fly another day? Or should we clip his wings and serve him up as the main course?!" The Joker let loose a demented cackled, turning the camera back to Red Robin. He moved toward the teen and grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at the camera; fortunately, he still had his mask on.

"Nngh," Tim groaned, regaining consciousness. Music started playing in the background, the theme music to 'Jeopardy' as the Joker spoke again.

"Make sure to place your votes! We'll count ;em in an hour! Now I'm not telling you how to vote, but I'm hopin' we have ourselves-" the Joker paused, getting an up close shot of his face "a blast! Bwuahahahahahaaaa!" The feed went dead and the music continued as a poll came up with two options; Kill Red Robin, or Let Him live. The votes were already coming in, and the Kill option was already in the lead.

Jason hit his breaking point.

"Enough is enough. That fucking clown dies. Now," Jason growled, glaring at Bruce and daring him to challenge his decision.

"Jason-"

"No! I don't want to fucking hear your excuses anymore, old man!" Jason shouted, showing him the poll on his phone. "The Joker is going to kill Red Robin, and worse, the people he's fought so hard to defend are fucking _voting_ for it! I'm done. Done. The Joker dies," Jason snarled, storming past Bruce. Bruce grabbed him by his arm and spun him around, glaring at him.

"You can't let this become personal. You can't let yourself get emotional. It's what he wants," Bruce replied.

"I don't fucking care anymore!" Jason shouted, throwing a punch at the man and hitting him square in the jaw. "He has Tim, and he's going to kill him!" Jason gritted his teeth and took of his mask; he wanted to look Bruce in the eye, with his own, uncovered eyes. "How many Robins will is take, Bruce? How many Robins does The Joker have to kill before you finally fucking act?" Jason snarled angrily. "How many sons are you going to let die before you do what you should've done years ago?" Jason hissed in a low tone, not caring if it was a low blow. He put his helmet back on and jogged toward his motorcycle and took off.

* * *

Red Robin grunted as he tried to free himself from his bonds, but he was weakened from the beating he'd taken. He'd been on his way down into Old Gotham via the underground tunnels and caves when the Joker's and his gang ambushed him, taking him by surprise. When he woke up, he found himself tied to a chair, with a bomb ticking down underneath him.

The Joker left Tim in front of a monitor that showed people actually voting for him to die. Tim tried not to let it get to him as he tried to worm his way free, but to no avail. As for the clown himself, he was currently amusing himself by torturing a couple of GCPD officers he found poking around nearby. He tied the three cops up and threw them in the corner and beat each of them in turn while telling bad jokes.

"So three highly decorated police officers die in a wild shootout with narcotics dealers and go to heaven. God greets them and asks, 'When you are laid out in your casket, and your fellow officers and family are mourning you, what would you like to hear them say about you?' The first cop says, 'I would like to hear them say, that I was the bravest cop on the force.' The second police officer says, 'I would like to hear that I was a terrific cop who died in the line of duty.' The last cop replies, 'I would like to hear them say ... Look, He's Moving!'" The Joker said, followed by a wicked laugh. When he stopped laughing he glared at the cops.

"I don't hear you laughing!" he said. The cops glared back and refused to play along, so the Joker grinned from ear to ear. "Oh don't worry, I know how to fix that!" he said, tossing a canister of his Joker Toxin at them. The greenish gas started pouring out and the cops started to laugh hysterically. Minutes later, they were dead. "I really slay 'em, don't I?" the Joker said with a demented giggle.

"You know I'm going to get free one way or another and kick your ass?" Tim asked with a snarl, glaring at the Joker. The Joker giggled and practically skipped over to Tim.

"Oh that's where you're wrong little birdie! You're going to go boom! Just like your predecessor! Only this time, you won't come back!" The Joker cackled, leaving Tim alone again.

"What about you? What do you get out of this, Strange?" Tim asked, turning his head as best he could. Hugo Strange came out of the shadows with a smug grin on his face.

"Why, the death of the Batman, of course. With all of you out of the way, and Ra's al Ghul and Sensei poised to kill each other, there will be no one in my way," Strange said in an even tone, patting Tim's shoulder. "It'll all be over soon, my boy. Take solace in the fact that you were a worthy adversary, for someone of your age," he added smugly.

"Wait, what do you mean 'no one in your way'?" Tim asked. Strange stopped and glanced over his shoulder.

"Why, to becoming the most powerful man in the world, of course."


	11. Chapter 11

"Get me a god damn location Roy!" Jason shouted into the comm link angrily as he raced through Gotham, looking for any signs of the Joker's men. He was aimlessly wandering, search for a needle in a haystack, but it was preferable to sitting around and doing nothing. As much as he complained about Tim, as much as he teased and taunted him, and as much as he claimed to dislike him, Tim was still his…his little brother (he'd never say or admit that out loud). Even if he were not, the idea of letting anyone suffer at the hands of the Joker, was simply _unacceptable_. No one, _no one_ , should have to endure that.

"I'm trying, Jaybird! Calm down!" Roy called back, frustration sneaking its way into his tone. He understood what Jason was going through and was trying to be patient with him, but- "I've got something! I think."

"I don't care what it is, give it to me, now!" Jason demanded. A brief silence, save for the sound of clacking keys on a keyboard, sounded over the comm link. Jason waited, grip tightening on the handle bars of his motorcycle.

"Gotham Cathedral! You can make it, Jay! Go!" Roy shouted, jumping up out of his seat. Jason turned the motorcycle sharply, his knee nearly scraping against the pavement, then gunned the engine and roared off toward Gotham Cathedral, ignoring _everything_ on his way.

"C'mon Timmy, stay alive," Jason muttered to himself, revving the engine and pushing the motorcycle to it's very limits. "I know you're listening, Bruce. So listen well; Tim first, Joker second," Jason said then. He heard a grunt from the other man, then a brief pause before he spoke.

"Jason, _listen to me_. This is what he _wants_. To bring us down to his level-"

"Don't you get it yet?! There is no outcome in which the Joker loses! No matter what we do, that psychopath gets what he wants! Jesus, and you call yourself the world's Greatest Detective!" Jason shot back.

"Jason-"

"Shut up! Do you even care about Tim?! Did you even care about me?! Who else has to die before you wake the fuck up?!" Jason snarled in response, turning a sharp corner and taking a few thugs out with his motorcycle, before speeding on toward the cathedral. "Damian?! Me, again?! What about Dick?! No, enough is enough, Bruce. I've tried your way. The Joker dies," Jason went on "and I'll go through _you_ too, if I have to." He didn't give Bruce the chance to reply before he severed the link.

Jason spotted the cathedral ahead, but it was swarming with not only Joker thugs, but also, assassins. There was a question there that he filed away to ask later, namely _why was the League of Assassins helping the Joker?_ A few possibilities flitted through his mind, but none of them good. For the moment, Jason had to focus on getting inside.

The assassins and clowns spotted him coming and moved to go on the attack. Jason slowly stood up on his motorcycle as it raced toward them, maintaining his balance. He waited as he drew closer and closer, noting the assassins and clowns starting to back up. Then, he jumped off of the bike, doing a flip into the air. The bike crashed through the makeshift barricade and the clowns and assassins scattered. Jason fired a couple of well placed shots at the gas tank, and the motorcycle exploded, sending assassins and clowns scattering in all directions. As he landed in the ground, he raced toward the cathedral; his guns were loaded with lethal ammunition, so he compromised a bit. As he raced toward the cathedral, he fired non-lethal shots to the knees, feet and shoulders. He'd promised Dick he'd stay non-lethal and so he'd keep his promise. But the Joker? He was getting a full clip.

As Jason approached the cathedral, he drew a handful of mini grenades from his utility belt and threw them, blowing the door down and taking out the assassins just behind them. He walked over the door and the assassins beneath them without a care and spotted Tim in the distance, tied up and beaten. It was a trap and Jason could feel it. The reckless entry and antics were little more than a rouse to make his enemies, assassins, clowns, or otherwise, think he was stupid.

"Oh lookie! The Red Hood has come to save the day!" came the Joker's voice, echoing around the empty cathedral. He gave a demented giggle but Jason couldn't pinpoint a location; it was too dark and the echo made it impossible to trace the source. Jason tread carefully, further inside the cathedral, eyes peeled for any sign of any other opponents.

"Well yeah, that and to bury your pasty white ass," Jason replied, drawing his guns. Another laughed sounded, bouncing off the walls and echoing throughout the entire cathedral. Jason spun around a little, here the sounds of footsteps around him in the darkness of the cathderal. He looked out one of the stained glass windows; dusk was upon them and nightfall would soon follow. He turned back toward Tim's direction but the teen hadn't moved at all. Unconscious.

"You spoiled my fun! I was recreating my most glorious masterpiece!" The Joker called with a little giggle as Jason drew nearer to Tim. Jason stopped before him and reached out with a gloved hand, gingerly lifting Tim's head to check if he was still alive. He could feel a pulse, but blood ran down the boy's shin, from his mouth and his nose. It made Jason's blood boil. "You! Bwuahahahahahaaa!" The Joker finished with a demented cackle. Jason spun on the spot, just in time to see Scarecrow leaping toward him. Jason pointed his guns, but Scarecrow slapped them aside and Jason fired into empty space. Before he could counter attack, Scarecrow injected him with needles attached to his glove, injecting him with Fear Toxin.

Jason shouted in a mix of pain and fear as visions began swimming in his brain. He fell to the ground, tearing off the helmet and pulling at his hair as his worst fear became a reality in his own mind.

 _"And here we are, once again! Ya just can't seem ta get away, can ye?" The Joker asked with a demented cackle. Jason opened his eyes to find himself bound with rope around his wrists, his boots and gloves discarded, on the cold, hard floor of the warehouse where he died._

 _"N-no, not again! It's not real," Jason told himself, closing his eyes shut._

 _"Oh, it's real bird boy! Time for round two!" The Joker said, bringing the crowbar down on Jason again…and again…and again…Jason spit blood onto the floor as tears filled his eyes, looking at the door, waiting for Batman-for Bruce-to come and save him. But he knew he wouldn't come because he'd been here before, lived through this before, and one couldn't change the past._

 _"Face it, little bird," the Joker said with a wicked grin. He knelt down in front of Jason and fisted his hair, forcing their eyes to meet. "You're stuck with me forever! You're my masterpiece, and you know what makes it so special?" The Joker pushed Jason's face into the floor before he got up and fingered the crowbar as he looked down at the boy. "Dead or alive, you're a living reminder to all of the other Bat Boys, and even Batsie himself, of me! Whenever they look at you, they'll see me!"_

 _"No…NO!" Jason hollered, struggling against his bonds._

 _"Oh, I'm afraid so. But don't worry, Uncle Jay is here for ya!"_

* * *

The cathedral, and the carnage that The Red Hood has left in his wake, came into view minutes later to Bruce. His eye's narrowed as he slammed on the breaks of the Batmobile and jumped out, throwing a line toward one of the stained glass windows. Bruce crashed through the window where he found both Jason and Tim bound beside one another, both of them unconscious, but Jason seemed to be dreaming. A nightmare. It all became clear though, when Scarecrow and Joker appeared from the shadows, along with League Assassins and Joker thugs.

"Well, if it isn't Batman. Come to save your wayward birds?" Scarecrow asked with a dark laugh. Bruce's eyes narrowed, dialing in on the syringe-glove Scarecrow had hovering near Jason's exposed throat. An alarm went off the and Joker giggled, moving toward a laptop on an alter nearby.

"Oh look at that! Time's up and the votes are in! Oooh, so sorry! Red here's been voted to go pop!" The Joker said with a hysterical giggle. The Joker pulled out a trigger, but Bruce was faster; in a quick motion, he drew a batarang and threw it, knocking the detonator out of the Joker's hands. The League Assassins and Joker clowns launched into combat. As Scarecrow moved to inject Jason with more fear toxin, a birdarang flew toward him and struck the syringes, shattering them and sending the liquid toxin spilling into the floor. Scarecrow cursed angrily and turned to see his attacker, spotting Damian racing into the cathedral on his bike. The bike skidded to a stop and Robin jumped off of it, and threw a few more at Scarecrow.

"Your birds are an annoyance," Scarecrow hissed, launching himself at Damian.

"Father. Thought you could use a hand," Damian said smoothly, blocking a few attacks from Scarecrow. Moments later, several red arrows rained down from a window above and trapped several assassins and Joker thugs in polyurethane foam. Batman and Robin looked up to see Arsenal joining the fray.

"Heya, got room for one more?" the archer called before jumping down to the floor below, using a League Assassin as a landing pad. They heard the Joker laughing hysterically as he made a break for it. "Go! Get the Joker! Twerp and I can handle these guys," Roy called.  
"Tt, I can handle them by myself, Arsenal," Damian retorted. Batman headbutted a league assassin, then went after the Joker. As soon as Roy freed himself from a tangle of Joker thugs, he raced over to Jason's side.

"Hey, Jaybird," Arsenal whispered, injecting Jason with anti-toxin. After a few moments, Jason started to come to.

"Nngh, Roy?" Jason asked, shaking his head and trying to clear his thoughts. Roy smiled at him, then turned his attention to Tim, using a throwing knife to cut the barbed wire that bound him to the chair.

"Didn't think I'd sit back and let that crazy clown hurt my best buddy, didja?" Roy asked with a smirk. Jason chuckled in amusement, shaking his head once more. He stood and grabbed up his helmet, putting it on and grabbing up the rest of his gear.

"Thanks for the assist, but I've got something I need to finish. Where did that crazy clown go?" Jason asked. Roy pointed toward a set of stairs at the back of the cathedral while he focused on freeing Tim.

"That away."

* * *

Bruce chased the Joker up to the rooftop of the cathedral; the clown was laughing hysterically as he jumped swung around on one of the gargoyles, waiting for Batman to catch up. When he saw Batman coming up him, he laughed and threw a Joker Gas grenade.

"Oh Batsie, don't get your cape in a bunch! It was just a bit of fun! You're so much fun to play with!" The Joker said with a demented giggle. Bruce put on his rebreather when the grenade exploded and plowed forward, slamming a fist into the Joker's jaw. The clown just kept laughing, spitting floor onto the roof of the cathedral.

"Oooh, that one hurt a little! Not mad at little ol' me, are you?" the Joker asked, cackling as he swung a fist at Bruce. Bruce ducked and threw a fist into the Joker's stomach. Joker groaned as he stumbled backward, but still kept laughing. "That's right, give it all ya got!" Bruce threw a right hook, then followed up with a left, finishing with a kick to the Joker's stomach. Joker was thrown backwards, skidding to a stop beside a gargoyle.

"You're done Joker. It's over!" Bruce shouted at him. The Joker let out another giggle as he got to his feet.

"Over? It'll never be over! Why, the fun's only just begun!" Bruce growled and threw another series of punches, then kicked him in the stomach. The clown slammed back against the gargoyle behind him, still laughing. "That's right, beat me until your knuckles bleed! Deep down, I think you enjoy this," the Joker said, cackling again, cut short by another punch to his jaw. "Either way, we both know there's only one way this ends."

Bruce growled at him and grabbed the Joker by the throat, throwing him across the room. He stalked after the clown as he got to his feet and punched him again, and again, and again. Joker kept laughing but didn't fight back.

"Oh Bats! What a night!" The Joker said with a demented giggle. "Almost broke Bird Boy number One, tortured Bird Boy number two, drove Batgirl crazy, and strapped a bomb to Bird Boy number three!" The Joker taunted. Bruce roared at him and attacked, swinging fist after fist and pummeling the Joker, all while he laughed.

"Never again!" Bruce roared, grabbing Joker by the throat and squeezing. The Joker wheezed as he attempted to laugh and Bruce squeeze harder. Joker wheezed out a laugh, a grin spreading across his face…but Bruce stopped, delivering a single punched to the clown's head. Bruce got back up and backed away from the Joker, shaking his head.

"No. This is not how this ends," Bruce said in a low tone.

"How…disappointing," the Joker breathed out, grabbing a hidden dagger from inside his purple coat. He got up and lunged at Bruce, who turned around in time and threw the Joker over his head. The clown cackled as he fell over the edge of the building, but Bruce fired a line which wrapped around his ankle ad caught him. He slowly reeled him back up, but left him to hang. Bruce glared down at him.

"You just couldn't let me go, could ya?" The Joker asked, heaving a sigh. "You won't kill me because of some self-righteous sense of justice, and I wont kill you, because you're too much fun!" Bruce ignored him, turning his back on him, but the Joker went on. "Oh, but you can't get rid of me anymore! I've left my mark! Every time you look at your little birdies, you'll see me!" he said with a demented giggle. "Madness, you see, it just like gravity. All it needs is-" the Joker went on, grinning like the devil "a little push!" He cackled hysterically as he swung back and forth on the roof of the cathedral.

"You're going back to Arkham, Joker."

"No, he's not," came Jason's voice. Bruce turned at the last moment as a throwing knife whizzed through the air and cut the line. The Joker laughed hysterically as he fell.

"I always get what I want!" he called between fits of laughter.

"No!" Bruce shouted, watching as the Joker fell to his death. He turned to Jason and glared at him.

"He was defeated! It was over! You didn't"

"I did! I promised you I'd end him, and I always keep my god damn promises!" Jason snarled at him. Bruce stalked toward him, but Jason held his ground. "What? You gonna fight me over the death of that homicidal maniac?" Jason growled. He jabbed Bruce in the chest with his finger and glared at him. "I only did what you should've done years ago!" Jason snapped.

"We don't kill, Jason! If we kill-"

"Don't give me that 'we're as bad as they are' bullshit! Nobody could be as bad as the Joker! Nobody!" Jason hissed, shoving Batman away from him. "I'm starting to think you got some kind of kick, having him around! To torment us! I'm starting to think you enjoyed it!"

"No, that's not true!" Bruce hollered back, throwing a punch of his own. Jason stumbled back a bit and took off his helmet, glaring back at Bruce.

"No, I suppose it's not. But actions speak a whole lot louder than words, Bruce. _I_ suffered, _Barbara_ suffered, and now _Tim_ and _Dick_ have both suffered, because you refused to act," Jason said in an even tone. He put his helmet back on and moved toward the edge of the building. "So I did," he added before diving off the edge, shooting a line and swinging to a nearby building, taking off into the night. Bruce's eyes narrowed as he watched Jason go, then returned to the inside to the cathedral. Roy and Damian were tying up the last of the thugs and Tim was sitting against the altar, resting. Bruce moved to Tim's side and knelt down beside him.

"Tim, are you alright?" he asked. Tim looked up ar Bruce, wiping the blood away from his nose, and smiled.

"Yeah, I'm okay Bruce. Thanks," Tim replied, and Bruce hugged him. "What about the Joker?"

"Dead," Bruce answered. The room went silent as all eyes fell on Bruce. Bruce heaved a sigh and shook his head.

"Jason."

Nobody knew what to say to that, not even Roy. But Roy grabbed up his bow and headed toward the exit of the cathedral.

"Roy? Where are you going?" Tim asked.

"To find my friend. He'll need one, since I'm sure someone probably said _something_ to piss him off," Roy answered, glancing over his shoulder at Bruce before leaving the cathedral. As he made his way toward his own motorcycle, he stopped briefly, to glance over at the Joker. Even in death, he'd gotten the last laugh, with a smug grin still plastered across his face.


	12. Chapter 12

Bruce, Tim, and Damian found themselves back at the bunker, but Roy, Jason and Dick were nowhere to be found. Bruce sat at the computer almost as soon as they returned, with Damian by his side as usual. Tim made himself comfortable on the bed with the first aid kit and began wrapping up his own wounds. Tim and Damian both looked when they heard a vehicle pull up nearby; it was Dick.

"Bruce, Damian - " Dick began, looking around the bunker. When his eyes fell upon Tim, he smiled brightly. "Tim!" he called, rushing to the teen's side and collecting him into a tight hug.

"Ow! Too hard!" Tim breathed. Dick blushed a bit and pulled away from him, patting his hair.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. Tim heaved a sigh, then a smile crept onto his face as he now hugged Dick with one arm. Dick chuckled a bit and took the first air kit from Tim. "Here, let me help," he murmured, as he began helping Tim get out of his armor. He glanced over his shoulder and Bruce and Damian and began wondering where Jason and Roy were. More worrisome, was the fact that none of them had heard from Selina in a while. But for the moment, Dick had to focus on Tim; he had a number of wounds, bruises, cuts, and scrapes mostly, littering his torso. Dick grabbed the peroxide and a cotton ball and began gingerly cleaning the cuts and scrapes, while Tim pulled out his phone and kept working from it.

"So, where are Jason and Roy?" Dick asked without looking away from his work. He grabbed some bandages and began covering Tim's open wounds. The teen winced a bit, and Dick muttered a few apologies. When no answer came, he looked over his shoulder at both Damian and Bruce. "Damian…Bruce," Dick began. He glanced back at Tim. "Tim…where are Jason and Roy?"

"They're fine, Dick," Tim replied easily. Dick frowned a bit, but didn't really look convinced. He finished he;ping Tim dress his wounds and then pushed himself to his feet, moving across the bunker toward Bruce and Damian.

"Bruce…are they okay?"

"They're fine," Bruce replied evenly. Dick didn't like that tone, because it meant that he and Jason had gotten into it again. There was only one thing it could've been over, given the circumstances though; The Joker.

"Master Bruce, I thought you'd like to know; Miss Gordon is doing better. As for Old Gotham, well," Alfred began. Bruce's eyes narrowed as he glared at the screen, an active map of the city on the screen.

"What is it, Alfred?" Bruce asked.

"It would appear that Blackgate Penitentiary is…under siege. Miss Kyle is there with the security guards and a handful of GCPD Riot Police. It's The League of Assassins," Alfred explained. Bruce turned to Tim as he pushed out of the seat.

"Tim, did you manage to save any of the cure?" Bruce asked. Tim looked away from him and let his head hang in disappointment.

"No. I'm..sorry," Tim murmured. Bruce frowned but shook his head. He moved across the cave and patted Tim's shoulder.

"It's alright. It's just good that you're safe," Bruce replied. He looked over his shoulder at Damian and gestured toward the Batmobile. "Damian, with me." Damian didn't waste any time as he raced toward the Batmobile and hopped inside. Bruce turned to Dick but before anyone would get a word out, another motorcycle, Jason's, pulled up into the bunker and he had Lucius with him.

"And here we are; home sweet home," Jason said with a grin. The old man gave a chuckle of amusement as he climbed off of the bike.

"Gotta say, not bad," he said, hefting the messenger bag he had slung over his shoulder.

"Lucius," Bruce and Dick said in unison as the man came toward them.

"It's good to see you!" Dick said cheerily, giving the man a hug. Lucius chuckled again and looked Dick over.

"My, my, how you've grown, my boy! I see you put that trust fund Bruce and I built up for you to good use!" Lucius said to him. Dick grinned from ear to ear and nodded.

"Yes sir, thanks for that," Dick answered. Lucius turned to Bruce, who was as stone faced as ever, and handed him the messenger bag.

"Your boy" Lucius began, gesturing toward Jason "came to Wayne Tower for the cure. He explained what happens." Lucius paused and looked over toward Tim who was enthralled in whatever work he was doing on his phone. "I see young Timothy Jackson Drake is doing well though." Lucius said, using Tim's full name to get his attention. Tim looked up and flashed a smile at Lucius.

"Hey, Lucius. Uh, sorry about the cure," Tim replied. Lucius gave a dismissive hand wave.

"Anyway, as I was saying, your boy came to Wayne Tower, explained the situation and so I thought I'd come and deliver the cure in person this time," he said, gesturing toward the bag. Bruce opened the bag and, sure enough, over a dozen vials of purple fluid were inside the bag. "I made more, just in case. You know how things rarely ever go according to plan," he mused. Lucius turned toward the computer and eyed it for a few moments. He moved toward the computer and sat down in the chair there, then swiveled around to face the others.

"Well now, I think it's about time we put a stop to this madness, don't you?" Lucius asked with a slight smile. Bruce nodded in agreement and set the cure down on a desk nearby.

"Well hello there, Lucius. It has been a long time," came Alfred's voice. Lucius spun in the chair, turning back toward the computer.

"Indeed it has my old friend. So what say we find this Doctor Strange together and end this? Then perhaps I'll drop by and we'll catch up over tea?" Lucius suggested as he got right to work.

"That sounds wonderful," Alfred replied. Bruce turned to Dick again and glanced over at Jason, who by now had removed his helmet was was working at one of his workbenches.

"Dick, I think you and Jason need to talk," was all he said before he joined Damian in the Batmobile and peeled out of the cave. Dick turned to Jason then and moved toward the work bench, stopping beside the man. Jason glanced up at Dick while he was cleaning his hand guns before setting them down and turning to his boyfriend.

"Roy already headed down to Balckgate, if that's what you're wondering," Jason said smoothly. Dick shook his head.

"No, it's not, but thanks for the heads up," he replied with a smile. Jason glanced over at Tim and Lucius, then nodded toward a secluded spot in the bunker, past the armory. The two of them headed over there and Jason leaned against the wall.

"Bruce said we had to talk. He didn't really say anything - " Dick began, peeling off his mask. Jason huffed and looked up at him.

"The Joker's dead. I killed him," Jason interrupted, looking up at Dick with a blank expression. Dick flinched a bit at the admission. He wasn't sure what to say and every time he opened his mouth to speak, no words came. He _honestly_ wasn't sure how to feel about that. If it had been anyone else, any random criminal, a Crime Lord, a drug dealer, or whatever, he knew he'd be upset. Jason promised him he wouldn't kill anymore…but the Joker…that made things much more complicated. The silence ended, however, when Jason continued on.

"This was the last straw, Dick," Jason said firmly, pushing away from the wall. His expression softened somewhat as he continued. "After what he did to you, to me, _twice_ ," he hissed, holding up two fingers "and almost killing Tim tonight, it was enough. I couldn't let him keeping going around and tormenting us, ripping us apart." Jason turned away from Dick and took a few paces away, crossing his arms over his chest. "I promised you I wouldn't kill. If you wanna break up, that's fine. I understand. But I won't apologize for protecting you guys."

Dick was a little taken aback by the comment. It's not like he didn't know that Jason actually cared; he knew he did, but Jason had just never said it _out loud_ before. Dick knew he should be upset with Jason. Jason promised he wouldn't kill except as a last resort! But, upon further reflect, he recalled Jason had promised not to kill except as a last resort, _with the exception of the Joker_. Dick had hoped to try and help Jason move away from vengeance; it wasn't healthy and all one had to do was look at Bruce to see that. But if he were honest with himself, _completely honest_ , could he _really_ lecture Jason about not killing, when he himself _allowed_ Blockbuster to be murdered? It was true that he didn't pull the trigger, but he did nothing to stop it either…

"The Joker was right about one thing," Dick said smoothly. Jason turned to Dick, arching an eyebrow. Dick flashed a little smile, resting his hands on his hips. "He's never been able to traumatize me. Nothing he's done has ever really stuck with me. Because I never _let_ him." Dick moved toward Jason who tensed a little bit. Then, he leaned forward and capture Jason's lips in a tender kiss. He felt Jason smile into the kiss, felt the man's arms wrap around his waist.

"So…" Jason began, pulling just a hair's width away from Dick. Dick smiled at him before carefully pulling himself out of Jason's arms.

"So, I have no intention of letting the Joker win. I won't let him tear us apart. I won't let this get between us," Dick replied. Jason breathed a sigh of relief and moved forward to kiss him again, but a hand on his chest stopped him. "But _no more killing_ , Jason. _Last resort only_. Understand?"

"Read you loud and clear babe," Jason replied, leaning in to steal another kiss.

* * *

Arsenal, Catwoman, and Batman finished up with the assassins attacking Blackgate. From what little Batman could get out of one of the assassins he'd captured before the assassin killed himself, the point of the attack was merely to undo their work and keep Downtown Gotham in chaos. So he checked in with Arkham Asylum afterward. Red hood and Nightwing left as soon as they'd heard to try and hold Arkham and keep it from being cracked yet again.

"Well, that's that," Roy said smooth as he finished plugging up a whole in the wall of the main building with polyurethane foam. He turned to Bruce and Selina who weren't even paying any mind to him, but to each other. He smirked to himself as Selina kissed him and decided to make himself scarce. He didn't get the chance, however, because Tim came over the comm link to give them some good news.

"I have news. I managed to intercept an outoging transmission from Hugo Strange to his assassins," Tim began, then Jason interrupted.

"Wait, what?! Strange has assassins now?" Jason asked.

"Yeah, apparently. Anyway, Lucius, Alfred and I combined out efforts and both Jason and the Batcave's computer, and we managed to track Strange's location," Tim went on. Lucius picked up next.

"It would seem Doctor Hugo Strange has holed himself up in the Old Wayne Tower, located in the very center of Old Gotham," Lucius finished. Bruce parted from Selina, then called Damian over the link, jogging over toward the Batmobile.

"Excellent work. It's time we converge on the Old Wayne Tower and put a stop to Strange for good, this time," Bruce said evenly, jumping into the Batmobile. Damian swung down into the car from one of the upper floors of the prison, and Selina joined them in the back. Bruce looked over his shoulder at her and frowned.

"Selina, this is going to be very dangerous,"

"Come now, Bruce. You didn't think I'd be that easy to get rid of, did you?" she asked with a grin, kissing the side of his face. Bruce smiled slightly and Damian snorted, crossing his arms over his chest. "May as well see it to the end," she added.

"Roy," Bruce called, turning to Roy. Roy gave a wave of his hand and hopped onto his motorcycle.

"Don't worry, I'll be there! Wouldn't miss it!" he called.

"Dick," Bruce said then.

"I'll meet you there. And so will Jason."

Bruce frowned again, then gunned the batmobile, racing off for the Old Wayne Tower.

* * *

Jason finished work on his guns and started grabbing up his gear, strapping on his utility belt and holstering his guns. He stored different types of non-lethal ammo in the pouches on his belt, and grabbed a sniper rifle, just in case. He turned to Dick and frowned.

"He doesn't want me there, Dick. He didn't even -" Jason started, but Dick interrupted him with a quick kiss.

"It doesn't matter. You're going to be there, because you're still family. You're still his son," Dick replied. Jason snorted in reply as he turned to the work bench and grabbed his helmet, pulling it on.

"Yeah, well, I still killed the Joker. Sounds like he still has a self-righteous pole jammed up his ass about it," Jason said with a derisive snort and hand wave. Dick turned, walking backwards and smirking at him.

"He'll get over it, and if not? Well, tough. It's not going to change anything between us," Dick replied.

"Yeah, but you and he - " Jason started, but Dick stopped him again, holding up a hand.

"We won't get between us. I promise," Dick said, turned to, and hopping onto his Nightcycle. Jason chuckled to himself and jumped onto his own motorcycle.

"Alright then Dickie-bird. You all set to go?"

"Damn right! I'm ready to end this!" he said. Jason and Dick revved the engines of their motorcycles and peeled off, out of the bunker.

* * *

Strange frowned as he sat at the computer in the basement level of the Old Wayne Tower.

"So, it would seem they've finally found me," Strange said to himself, pulling up images of Ra's al Ghul, Sensei, and Bruce. Another image of the Joker popped up with a red 'X' over his face and the word 'deceased' across it. Then came an image of Jason Todd. Strange smirked to himself at the images on the screen.

"That one could pose a problem. He doesn't shy away from killing," Strange said to himself. He turned in his chair to see over a dozen assassins standing by, waiting for orders. "I want you to take special care with that one," he said.

"Yes sir," one of the assassins replied.

"Let them come. They'll kill each other and save us the effort. Then we'll finish off whoever is left," Strange said with a smug grin. "And then I will take my place as the undisputed leader of the League of Assassins. Power, wealth, and immortality; I'll make the world my laboratory," Strange said with a dark laugh, pressing a button on the console. Red 'X's appeared over all of hid adversaries faces.


	13. Chapter 13

The Batmboile came to a stop right outside the Old Wayne Tower. Bruce and Damian jumped out of the car and looked up toward the old tower. Dick and Jason joined them moments later, followed by Roy, Selina, and -

"Babs? What're you doing here?" Dick asked, everyone turning their attention onto Batgirl. Barbara flash a smile and gave a shrug of her shoulders.

"I couldn't let you guys have all the fun," she replied with a cheeky grin.

"You doing alright?" Roy asked, patting her shoulder. Barbara's smile faltered a bit. She nodded at first, then shook her head.

"Still a little rattled, but I'll be fine. I have to be; Gotham is my city too," she replied, steeling her resolve.

"Hmm, tough girl," Selina said with a smirk, approaching Barbara. She stopped before her with a hand on her hip and added "I like that. Glad to have you aboard. I could use a hand keeping these boys in line." Barbara grinned at her, and the others laughed at the comment.

"Well, let's get to it. I suppose it's too late to go stealth mode?" Dick asked, drawing his escrima sticks. Bruce turned to him and shook his head.

"Strange is crazy, but he'd a genius; it's highly likely he knew we were coming and prepared long before we arrived. Stealth would be pointless at this juncture," Bruce replied. The seven of them turned toward the tower; The Old Wayne Tower hadn't been used by Wayne Tech for decades, having moved to Midtown to the very center of Gotham city itself. The Old Wayne Tower had been bought by Lex Corp and had the Lex Corp logo emblazoned across the top of the tower. From the looks of things, the tower had been evacuated as soon as the chaos erupted.

"There are security guards and mercenaries stationed throughout the tower and around the perimeter. Lex obviously has a vested interest in protecting his property," Tim said over the comm link.

"Indeed. I've sent blueprints of the Old Wayne tower to all of you; the layout of the building is mostly the same, but security has been increased drastically since Wayne Enterprises moved to Midtown," Lucius added. "Strange appears to be located in the basement level beneath the tower, an old laboratory used for more illicit experiments before Thomas Wayne shut them, and the tower down."

"So Strange isn't trying to hide his location at all?" Dick asked.

"It appears not. He seems to _want_ you to go after him," Tim replied.

"Great. He's cocky. Let's get in there and smack the fuck out of him," Jason said, cracking his knuckles.

"No. We need to be careful. We can't underestimate Strange. He wouldn't just invite us in unless he had a plan," Bruce replied. He turned, glancing toward an alleyway across from the tower. He made his way over with everyone followed behind him. He pressed a single brick on the wall and the wall opened up into a hidden passage. He entered and gestured for them to follow. The seven of them descended into the passage and through a dimly lit tunnel the led underneath the tower.

"Why am I not surprised that he has a secret tunnel underneath a Lex Corp tower?" Jason asked with a snicker of amusement.

"Because he's Batman," Dick joked. Bruce growled a bit but otherwise, didn't respond.

"Oh lighten up a little," Selina joked, playfully jabbing Bruce in the side with her elbow.

"Alright, you're there, right underneath the tower. From what I can tell, there are three sub-levels and Strange is on the very last somewhere," came Tim's voice.

"Good work, Red Robin. Now we need to find a way down," Bruce began.

"So we split up then?" Dick asked. Bruce frowned a bit; the idea of splitting up on what was now Strange's territory didn't really appeal to him, however, they had little choice if they wanted to find a way to reach him.

"Yes. Damian, with me. Nightwing and Red Hood, you're together. That leaves Batgirl, Catwoman, and Arsenal," Bruce stated.

"Well then, see you on the other side," Selina with with a smirk and a wave of her hand and she, Barbara and Roy went off on their own.

"Right. Let's get this done. I owe Strange a punch in the throat," Jason said, cracking his knuckles as he and Dick went their own way. Bruce and Damian proceeded forward with their weapons drawn; anything could happen.

* * *

"Well, well, well. So the gang's all here. Save for Red Robin. Now I can kill them all in one fell swoop," Strange said with a grin as he monitored them via his computer. He typed in a few more commands onto the console, and footage of Ra's and Sensei, as well as the assassins they had in tow, came up. Ra's had slaughtered his way through the tower and down into the sublevel, while Sense and his assassins found another way in on the opposite side of where Batman and the others had entered.

"Orders, sir?" an assassin asked. Strange swiveled around in his chair and grinned smugly.

"Release our little pets. We'll kill them one by one. As for the rest of you, you'll stay here in case anyone manages to slip by, in which case, you know what to do," Strange said smoothly. He swiveled back toward the computer as the assassin left to follow his orders and focus his attention on Batgirl, Catwoman and Arsenal first.

"Hmm. Sid, see to these three guests, would you?"

* * *

Barbara, Selina and Roy made their way through the area, descending down a staircase leading to the next level. The place was dimly lit with old, defunct machines and old supplies and crates just laying around. It seemed as if construction on…whatever was planned for these sub-levels, was halted before it ever began.

"This place gives me the creeps," Roy muttered. Barbara glanced over at him and snickered in amusement.

"You fought killer mimes, and took on aliens, but this place creeps you out?" she joked. Arsenal shuddered a little and drew his bow, nocking an arrow.

"Hey, I watch horror movies. Places like this is where serial killers and monsters usually hide," Roy replied.

"Very astute of you," came a woman's voice. Barbara drew a few batarangs, and Selina reached for her whip.

"Whose there?!" Roy called, aiming his bow into the darkness. In a gust of wind, something knocked them all aside like rag dolls, sending them scattering across the room. Roy groaned and pushed himself up onto his feet.

"Ow. Did anyone get the number on that bus?" Roy groaned. Barbara and Selina got back on their feet, but that gust of wind came again and knocked each of them aside again.

"Speedster. Has to be," Barbara growled.

"Peachy," Roy grunted.

* * *

Strange grinned delightfully as he watched one of his experiments, a girl with superspeed, overpower Batgirl, Catwoman and Arsenal. He switched cameras to focus on Nightwing and Red Hood next. Strange glared at Red Hood particularly. His willingness ti kill made him particularly dangerous to him.

"Send the Ridgeback and several assassins. Kill the Red Hood. Do whatever you want with Nightwing," Strange said evenly, steepling his fingers. He switched the view over to Batman and Robin, then laughed darkly; Ra's, Sensei, Batman and Robin, were all converging on one location. "Perfect. I do believe this is checkmate. You were all worthy adversaries, but none of you were a match for my genius!"

* * *

Dick and Jason found a way to descend further down, onto the next sub-level. From everything they saw, there had been construction going on when it all just stopped. Whatever they were doing here, however, it obviously wasn't good. From what Lucius said, they were conducting illicit experiments and Thomas Wayne put a stop to it. But now Strange had the place and was doing god knows what with it.

"I'm just saying, one little bullet and -"

"No, Jason. No killing, remember?" Dick asked, his tone light and teasing. Jason snorted and crossed his arms, mock pouting.

"God, you ruin all my fun," Jason complained, his own tone full of tease, which earned him a laugh from Dick.

"Well, I'll make it up to you," Dick answered with a smirk and a not-so-subtle hint. Jason chuckled low and moved a little closer toward Dick.

"Is that so?" he asked in a low tone.

"If you behave," Dick replied. But before Jason could answer, several assassins surrounded them.

"Sure, I'll behave. Permission to beat them senseless, sir?" Jason joked.

"Granted," Dick replied, the two of them leaping into combat. The assassins came at them from every angle, and Jason and Dick retaliated by working in tandem, taking the assassins out one after another. Their movements confounded their enemies; when one of them with throw a punch, they'd fake out, and the other would make an attack instead. Or when an assassin came at one of them with their backs turned, the other would deflect the blow and defend. They worked well together, like a well-oiled machine.

"Game's over," came a deep, almost booming voice. Jason turned just in time to see a heavyset man, his skin green with a row of spines starting at the top of his head and running down his spine, come charging at him. Jason turned his guns on the creature, but the beast threw a backhand and sent Jason flying backward like a rag doll. Dick pounced on the creature, but it turned on him and threw a punch to his stomach. Dick gasped and crashed into a pile of crates behind him. Jason rushed forward and threw a punch as the creature turned to him, but he didn't even flinch.

"Well shit. This is going to hurt, isn't it?" Jason muttered.

"Good guess," the creature replied, grabbing Jason by his arm and bringing his elbow down. Witha crack, he broke Jason's arm and threw him across the room. Jason shouted in pain as he slid across the floor and clutched as his broken arm.

"God dammit!" he shouted angrily, hissing in pain. Dick was by his side an instant later.

"Hood!" he called, glaring over at the beast.

* * *

Strange laughed out loud as he watched the Ridgeback Monster plow through Nightwing and Red Hood with ease, enjoying the show while Sid tormented Batgirl, Aresenal, and Catwoman, and of course he thoroughly enjoyed watching Ra's al Ghul, Sensei, and their assassins kill each other. Batman and Robin struggled between those two and their forces; they'd brought numerous assassins with them. Everything was falling into place, and then the cameras monitoring Batman, Robin, and the two rivals for the League, went dead. Strange frowned and tried to bring it back up, but it was dead.

"Hmm. No matter. The League is now mine. Make preparations for us to leave for Nanda Partbat," Strange said, swiveling in his chair to face his assassins.

"Yes sir," one of them said as he knelt before his new master.

"There are going to be some changes, starting with the League itself. From now on, our goal is power. You will all be rewarded for your part in my rise!" Strange boasted. He silently celebrated his victory by watching his adversaries get pummeled. Half an hour passed with no word from the assassin he'd sent to prepare for their departure. Then suddenly, one-by-one, the cameras turned off. Strange sat up in alarm and started typing in commands onto the console, trying to bring the cameras back, but to no avail.

"IT's over, Strange,: came Batman's voice from behind him. Strange stopped what he was doing and grinned like the devil, then started clapping.

"Bravo detective, bravo! You survived and figured it all out!" Strange said smoothly, slowly turning to see Batman standing all by himself at the opposite end of the room. "So, you think you've won, don't you?"

"Yes. You've lost, Strange."

"That is where you're wrong! With all of my other adversaries dead, Ra's and Sensei gone, there's no one left to control the League of Assassins! That leaves me!"

"How do you figure?" Bruce asked, eyes narrowing. Strange chuckled in amusement and took a few steps toward Batman, but kept his distance.

"You mean, how did I convince League Assassins to turn to me?" Strange laughed in amusement and crossed his arms over his chest, giving Batman a wicked grin. "Ah yes, the vaunted League of Assassins, a group of legendary killers beyond compare. But in the end, they're still human. All I had to do was watch them, see which ones showed signs of faltering, and whisper promises of power and wealth to those most vulnerable. And then it was only a matter of manipulating the Sensei into going after Ra's al Ghul."

"Then what was the point of-"

"Arkham City? Simple; corral all of my enemies into one place and have them kill each other. Then pick off the survivors. When the dust settles, there would be no one in my way," Strange replied. "There's still you, of course, but even you can't stop me now!"

"Are you so sure, Strange?" Bruce asked, his lips canting upward into a sly smirk. He gestured toward the door behind him and it opened up, revealing Ra's al Ghul, Sensei and Robin, along with an entourage of assassins. Strange's eyes widened in horror.

"W-what?! But I saw you killing each other!"

"You saw what we wanted you to see, Strange," came Red Robin's voice from behind him. Strange turned and saw Red Robin's face on the computer screen behind him. "While you were busy basking in your 'victory', I hacked the sub-systems beneath the tower and took control of them. What you didn't see, was the others winning their battles, and more specifically-" Tim began to explain, then Ra's picked up from there.

"Was the detective, my father, and I having a little chat about how convenient this all seemed," Ra's said with a nasty glare. Sensei drew his sword and growled at Strange.

"Nobody manipulates me, or the League of Assassins, you whimpering little worm," Sensei growled, as he, Ra's, and their assassins filtered into the room. Coming in behind them, were Arsenal, Catwoman, Batgirl, Nightwing, and Red Hood.

"Hey, hood, you alright?" Arsenal asked, eyeing Jason's arm. Jason grunted, still holding onto his arm; the bone was broken, but still inside his arm, thank god for that.

"Yeah. I've had worse," Jason answered.

"You're done, Strange."

"No! No! I've worked too hard for it to end here!" Strange hissed, calling for his assassins. Dozens of assassins poured into the room as Strange made a break for it.

"Don't let him get away!" Bruce shouted, racing toward the assassins.

"Bring me his head!" Ra's called.

"I want his heart on a platter!" Sensei snarled. Combat broke out between both sides, with Ra's and Sensei joining forces for the moment. Batman raced after Strange, but his path was blocked by assassins.

Jason jumped into the fight, slipping past the assassins and drawing his gun as he glared at Strange.

"Hey, Robin! Give me your sword!" Jason called. Damian turned to Jason and snorted.

"What for?!" he called back.

"Bullets aren't enough. I want to stab him," Jason replied. Damian smirked and tossed Jason his sword.

"Finally something we agree on!"

"No stabbing! And no shooting!" Dick called, as he flipped over the heads of two assassins and grabbed their heads and knocking them together. Jason and Damian rolled their eyes.

"You're such a buzz kill," Jason replied. They managed to break through the assassins while Ra's, Sensei, and their forces occupied them. They chased after Strange, but couldn't find him. He was gone.

"Told you, you shoulda let me shoot him," Jason muttered.


	14. Chapter 14

"Yeah, you can just put that anywhere, thanks," Jason said smoothly to Tim as the teen helped bring some of Jason's things into the apartment in Bludhaven. It had been a week since the Arkham City incident. Batman distributed the cure to the GCPD and the mayor dissolved the blockade. With the cure at their disposal, the GCPD went down into Old Gotham and administered it, and from there, took control of Old Gotham back. News of the Joker's death hit the streets shortly after; few cared, save for Harley Quinn. And no sign of Strange or the League of Assassins could be found anywhere in Gotham. Bruce claimed that both Ra's and Sensei left with all of their forces to hunt down Strange. As it turned out, neither one of them appreciated being manipulated.

Jason had his arm in a sling and so moving is things into Dick's place was a bit more difficult. Dick came in with a couple of duffelbags full of Jason's clothes. He set them down by the couch for the moment and padded over to Jason with the goofiest, happiest smile on his face that Jason had ever recalled seeing.

"I'm so glad you decided to move in with me, Jaybird," Dick said cheerily, pressing a kiss to Jason's lips. He moved to part from his boyfriend, but Jason wrapped an arm around his waist and pulled him in close, kissing him deeply. Dick obliged, returning the kiss eagerly and getting a hand into Jason's soft black hair.

"Hey, less making out and more helping!" Tim snapped, dragging Jason's gear into the bedroom. Dick and Jason parted from one another and Jason gave Dick's ass a swat as he grabbed up Jason's clothes to take into the bedroom. As Tim passed by again, Jason grabbed the teen by the shoulder and pulled him close, wrapping an arm around his shoulders and ruffling his hair.

"Hey, thanks for helping out Timber. Appreciate it," Jason said evenly. Tim quirked an eyebrow.

"You're being nice to me? Who the hell are you, and where is my brother/" Tim asked with a teasing edge in his tone. Jason snorted in amusement.

"I can be nice when I want to be. And did you just call me brother?" Jason asked with a sly grin. Tim smirked and headed out of the apartment door, giving a dismissive hand wave.

"No idea what you're talking about" the teen replied. Roy passed by him and came through the door with a couple of boxes, grinning like an idiot at Jason. Jason rolled his eyes and prepared himself for the inevitable.

"Proud of you, Jaybird!" Roy said cheerily, balancing the boxes on one arm to slap his friend on the back playfully. "Ya finally did it! Moving in with your boyfriend is a pretty big step though. Are you sure-"

"He can handle it," Barbara chimed in with a shit eating grin on her face. "It was my idea anyway. But what made you decide to go for it?" she asked. Jason heaved a sigh, his good hand combing through his hair. His face got serious and both Barbara and Roy's smiles faded. Jason smiled slightly as he glanced past the door toward Dick who was playing with Ace while he put Jason's clothes away.

"Ah well. He did. I guess. And the Joker," Jason admitted.

"The Joker?" Roy and Barbara asked in unison, arching an eyebrow.

"Yeah. 'Bout the only good thing that pasty faced fucker ever did. Made me realize how important he is to me. That day he tried to make Dick kill him," Jason began, expression becoming more solemn "I guess…well, a whole bunch of shit started going through my head. Point is, I love him. But don't tell him that," Jason finished with a grin and a teasing edge in his tone. Roy snickered in amusement and Barbara just gave a smirk, poking him in the side with her elbow.

"Don't worry Jay, your secret is safe with us," she answered.

"Now let's get out of here so these two can bump uglies," Roy joked. Jason snorted and flipped Roy off.

"You're damn right! Let everyone know that Dick Grayon's ass is all mine!" Jason called after him, pulling a laugh out of both red heads. Jason heaved a sigh and turned, looking around the room and seeing his things now all set up along side Dick's. The reality was setting in; he was moved in with Dick Grayson, his _boyfriend_ , the guy he'd had a crush on for _years_. This was _real_ , and yet so surreal; he never imagined he'd find a boyfriend or a girlfriend, let along Dick Grayson. He counted himself lucky, because considering who he was, what he'd done both in his childhood and after he came back to life, it seemed almost conceivably that anyone would want to be with him romantically.

"you okay Jaybird?" Dick asked, padding out of the bedroom. Jason flashed a smirk and reached out to Dick. Dick smiled and moved closer, allowing Jason to tug him closer to his chest.

"Little nervous, honestly. Think you can put up with me?" Jason asked. Dick chuckled in amusement and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips.

"I think we can manage. Everything will be fine, Jaybird," Dick replied. He pulled away from Jason, but enlaced his fingers with the other man's. "But for now, I believe I promised you some fun if you behave," Dick said with a seductive smirk on his face. Jason wiggled his eyebrows a bit, grinning like the devil.

"Oh yeah? And have I been a good boy?" Jason purred as Dick dragged him into the bedroom. Dick stripped off his shirt and let himself fall back onto the bed.

"Very good," Dick replied, waving Jason over. Jason licked his lips as he raked his eyes over his lover's body. He padded closer to Dick, kicking off his shoes. He knelt down in front of Dick, and with the man's help, relieved himself of his own shirt. Dick sat up and looked down at Jason, cupping the man's jaw with his hands and kissing him.

"I love you, Jason," Dick said. Jason leaned up and stole and kissed him, the kiss slow and tender, conveying his feelings for the man as their lips melted together.

Jason smile up at him through half lidded eyes. With a hand on his chest, Jason shoved the man down onto the bed.

"Love you too, Dickie-bird," Jason said with a sly grin, unzipping Dick's pants.


End file.
